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Men Who Dared 



STUDIES IN OLD TESTAMENT 
MANHOOD 



CHARLES GALLAUDET TRUMBULL 



TEACHERS' EDITION 



1907 

Young Men's Christian Association Press 

New York 



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Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

The International Committee 

of 

Young Men's Christian Associations 



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CONTENTS 

PAGE 

How to Teach These Lessons . . . vii 

Books for the Teacher xiii 

I. A Talk About Heroes 1 

II. A Sailor Who Dared to Take Ridicule 5 

III. An Unselfish Fighter Who Trusted . 11 

IV. The Man Who Would Not Fight . . 19 
V. A Crippled Hero Who Surrendered . 25 

VI. A Boy Who Didn't Believe in Luck . 33 
VII. A Man Who Dared the Impossible . . 39 
VIII. The General Who Captured the Prom- 
ised Land 45 

IX. The Conqueror Who Would Not be 

King 51 

X. The Giant-Killer Who Spared His 

Enemy 57 

XI. A Prince Who Was His Rival's Friend 63 

XII. The King Who Made a Hard Choice . 69 

XIII. The Prophet Who Shamed a God . . 73 

XIV. The Man Who Used His Power for 

Others 79 

XV. A Captive Who Refused to be Scared . 85 

XVI. The Man Who Would Not Use Soldiers 91 
XVII. A Wall Builder Who Kept His Wits 

About Him 97 

XVIII. Sixteen Men Who Dared 105 

Maps 

Bible Lands ii 

Land of Canaan vi 

The Red Sea Trap 43 

Ezra's Journey from Babylon to Jerusa- 
lem 94 



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HOW TO TEACH THESE LESSONS 

It is hard for us to think of the leading men of 
Old Testament times as flesh and blood folks who 
were very much like ourselves. They were heroes ; 
and heroes are different from ordinary people. But 
we shall never get the real message of these men's 
lives until we learn to know them in their likeness 
to ourselves. Strip them of the unreality that they 
have to most of us, and we find that their heroism 
consisted in doing commonplace things in a way out 
of the ordinary, but a way open to all of us if we 
will pay the price that they paid. 

Young people can come to know the men of Old 
Testament times in this intimate way if they are simply 
guided into it a little; and young people are likely 
to be as surprised as older folks to learn how much 
those old-time characters had in common with them- 
selves, and how the experiences of Bible times are 
being lived over again, day by day, in schoolroom 
and schoolyard and home and on the street. 

To bring about this intimate and friendly acquaint- 
ance between the leading men of the Old Testament 
and schoolboys of the present day — boys of from 
twelve to fifteen years of age — is the purpose of this 
course. Definite daily home work is furnished for 
assigning to the boys, simple in character, but in- 
tended to stimulate them to think for themselves. 

Two results will be sought for in each study: (1) 
An intimate acquaintance with the man himself, his 
place in God's plan, his achievement and the obsta- 
cles confronted and overcome; and (2) a clear un- 



viii MEN WHO DARED 

derstanding of the principle or quality in his life that 
brought him success. 

Purpose of the Teaching Hints 

The teaching hints in each chapter (headed, after 
the first chapter, "Teaching the Lesson in Class") are 
intended to suggest a plan and a method for the 
teacher's conduct of that session. In order to fur- 
nish such teaching-material in the most direct way, 
this section of each chapter has been presented from 
the standpoint of the teacher as addressing the class. 
Such colloquial phraseology is used as a teacher 
would naturally and effectively employ in talking to 
a class of boys; and the form of address, in the 
second person, has in view the members of the class 
as listeners and participants. 

For participants the pupils must be, if any teaching 
at all is to be done. Never let the class hour be 
taken up wholly, or even chiefly, by the teacher's 
talk. Only as the pupils give back something will 
they hold what they receive. Questions, therefore, 
are freely used in the teaching hints, and the class 
should be encouraged to talk freely, in discussion 
and even in challenge of the teacher's views. Espe- 
cially should the pupils be urged to bring up in class 
any questions or points that they have found diffi- 
cult in their "Home Work" during the week. 

The "Home Work for the Pupils" explains itself. 
But one important and strategic point may well be 
noted: make it home work for the teacher as well, 
and let your pupils know that you are doing so. It 
will be a real bond of comradeship between teacher 
and class for the latter to realize that their teacher 



INTRODUCTION ix 

is doing, day by day, exactly the same work that 
they are asked to do. 

Getting the Pupils to Work 

There are two ways of giving the pupils their 
home work. The obvious one is to put the pupil's 
text-book into the hands of each boy at the close of 
the first session of the class (after giving the "Talk 
about Heroes"), and asking that each week's readings 
be followed day by day until the course is com- 
pleted. The other way, which has its advantages, is 
to give out no complete books at all, but to cut out 
and distribute only a single week's work at a time, 
repeating this week by week. This will keep up an 
element of sustained interest during the course, as 
the boys will never know what character is coming 
next; and it will perhaps induce regular attendance 
to secure the new list of readings (though it would 
be advisable to mail the needed page to absentees). 
When the pupils' books are thus cut up for week-by- 
week distribution, it would be desirable, at the com- 
pletion of the course, for each pupil to secure (by 
purchase or by presentation from the teacher) a new 
complete copy of the book for permanent preserva- 
tion. 

The Teacher's Home Preparation 

Of course no teacher will limit his own prepara- 
tion to the material thus given in the pupils' daily 
home work. He needs all that and more. The Bible 
material given at the head of each chapter in the 
teacher's text-book is intentionally fuller than that 
given to the pupils, and should be carefully read by 
the teacher. 



x MEN WHO DARED 

In addition, the well-equipped teacher will have a 
good Bible dictionary, a concordance, and a help to 
the study of the geography of Bible lands. Several 
such books are named on page xiii. The Bible dic- 
tionary will furnish needed information about the 
characters studied, and other material richly illumi- 
native of Bible manners and customs. Valuable help 
to the enrichment of the teaching will be found in 
as full a knowledge as possible of the geography of 
the scene of action each week. Moreover, the con- 
cordance and the dictionary may very properly be 
at hand in the classroom, for immediate^ reference 
in settling points under discussion. It is well to 
familiarize the pupils with working-tools of this sort, 
which they themselves may be led to desire for their 
own Bible study; and one or two good wall maps 
in the classroom, for occasional use, are also de- 
sirable. 

Both teacher and pupils should have each his own 
individual copy of the Bible. The American Stan- 
dard Revision is strongly recommended, not only 
because it is the most accurate English translation of 
the original texts in existence, and therefore brings 
us closer to the real meaning of the Bible itself, but 
also because it does this in English which is so much 
more intelligible to a present-day reader than is the 
English of three centuries ago (that of the King 
James, or "Authorized" Version of 1611). It is to 
be hoped that both teacher and class will secure the 
best style of edition that can be afforded, so that it 
may last for years. It is poor economy to buy a 
cheap edition of the Bible. 

Never be afraid of accumulating a great deal more 



INTRODUCTION 



XI 



material on a lesson than you can hope to use in 
teaching that lesson. It is just such reserve, un- 
used material that gives power to what you do use. 
It is like the powder back of the ammunition. A 
teacher who has only just enough material to see 
him through is unfitted indeed, and the class will 
find it out. 

Make Your Own Plan 

But the material that has been gathered must 
be systematized for use, according to a carefully out- 
lined plan of teaching. Such a plan will be found to 
underlie every lesson in the teaching hints which 
this volume gives; but those hints are intended to 
be only suggestive, not to be rigidly followed, and, 
of course, are never to be read aloud in the class, 
nor used verbatim. Every teacher should adapt them 
and improve upon them for his own class. Nor do 
they attempt to cover all the material which the boys 
have used in the daily home work — there are impor- 
tant points in that which should be touched upon in 
class. 

A lively use of the imagination is one secret of 
success in teaching. It enables us to see the men 
and the scenes that we are bringing before the class, 
and we must do that to make our teaching grip. It 
has been said that a person cannot be dull in de- 
scribing a railroad accident that he has seen. We 
must see these Bible persons and places if we would 
escape being dull to our classes; and to do that we 
must fairly live in the atmosphere of the chapters 
that we study, day by day, until the old life has be- 
come almost part of our life. 



xii MEN Wl A RED 

Effectiveness of the Picture Method 

A sot of handsome half-t< tares has been pre- 

pared to accompany this course, which, if a class can 

Drd the small additional cost of ten cents a set for 

dh pupil, may furnish the most interest:: 

and permanent features of the boys 1 study, by the 
follow ing >:mple p.. 

Provide each boy with a blank book, of large 

the pictures and 
all< s ' fthepag 

have each boy. before coming to ciass every week, 
write the title of tb.e chapter that is to be studied 
in diss S Dame, and the Bible chap- 

ters that I ten covered by the week's "Home 

Work.*' < will bring into class, 

aiu j a t | the less will hand them each 

for the ... This they will slip 
into their blank books, and, upon g e, they 

will paste the picture neatly into position, and under 
it write from memory, in the the life 

the man that I I studied. The foil 

week they an their 1 

might read a'.. 

best Story, or read them in rotation one a week, week 
after week. thing J t as 'Writ- 

i in the boys' no 5,— 

and the pictures will be an fa •-'■'■ : 

blank books. "My Own 

Ho k." 

Frequent Reviews 

Reviews maj ■■• : ^ mes 

during the I nj left for t ! 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

session only, at the end. Lesson XVIII gives a 
variety of review methods, some of which could be 
used in reviews during the course, covering three 
or four weeks each time, to be followed also by a 
general review of the entire course in conclusion. 

Moreover, a written examination is conducted every 
year in this and other Bible study courses by the 
International Committee of Young Men's Christian 
Associations. Full particulars will be sent by the 
Committee, upon request (address Religious Work 
Department, 124 East 28th Street). It may be a 
healthy stimulus to your class to prepare at the out- 
set to take this examination. 

While this course has been prepared primarily with 
boys' classes in mind, it is hoped that it may be 
found useful in girls' classes as well. Girls are, as 
a rule, quite as ready to be interested in hero-wor- 
ship as boys. 

Books for the Teacher 

The American Standard Version of the Revised 
Bible. New York : Thomas Nelson & Sons. From 
35 cents to $12, according to style and size. 

Walker's Comprehensive Concordance to the Holy 
Scriptures. Boston: The Pilgrim Press. $1.25. 

Davis' Dictionary of the Bible (with Maps and 
Plans). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 
$2.25. 

For interesting chemical object lessons, illustrating 
spiritual truth, which could be used from time to 
time during this course, see Mr. Eugene C. Foster's 
book of such experiments. (The Sunday School 
Times Company, 50 cents.) 



xiv MEN WHO DARED 

For a grasp of Bible Geography, either Townsend 
MacCoun's "The Holy Land in Geography and in 
History" (Revell, $1.65) or John B. Calkin's "His- 
torical Geography of Bible Lands" (The Westminster 
Press, $1) is recommended. 

Any of the above books may be ordered from the 
publishers of this course, the Y. M. C. A. Press, 
124 East 28th Street, New York. 



A TALK ABOUT HEROES 

What boy here has ever seen a hero ? Good ; what 
was his name? Has anybody else ever seen a hero? 
Who was he? Let's write down the names of all 
the heroes you have ever seen. Tom, here's a pencil ; 
you write them on this tablet of paper. When the 
rest of you are through, I am going to give the name 
of a hero I once saw. 

Now, then, can you think of the names of any 
heroes that you ever heard about, living or dead, but 
that you have never seen? Will, you keep this list 
on this other tablet. Not too fast; give Will a 
chance. You've all heard of more heroes than you 
have seen, haven't you? Let me add one to your 
list: John G. Paton. No one ever heard of him? 
We shall find out why I named him, a little later. 

But now for a hard question. Don't try to answer 
it quickly when I ask it. Stop and think a moment. 
I'll give you half a minute by my watch before any 
one is to answer. Ready: What is a hero? I will 
write down your answers myself, this time. 

Before we talk about these answers you have 
given, let me tell you what the word "hero" comes 
from. It comes from an old Greek word spelled 
almost exactly the same way, — Herds. And that 
word meant, first, any freeman. Then it was used 
more for soldiers, fighters ; and then, as people looked 
back upon that age, they began to think of the free- 
man -fighters, or heroes, as exalted above the race of 



2 MEN WHO DARED 

common men. And the dictionary of to-day will tell 
you that a hero is "a man distinguished for valor, 
fortitude, or bold enterprise" ; one having "great 
courage, or exceptionally noble or manly qualities." 

Now let us get up our own definition of a hero, 
out of what we have just learned. What was the 
first and simplest meaning of the Greek word? "A 
freeman" — we'll start with that. Then he was a 
fighter; is fighting usually hard or easy? We'll add 
then, "who does hard things/' But the dictionary 
said something about "noble" and "manly"; and not 
everything hard is manly. It may be hard to jump 
off Brooklyn Bridge or ride in a six-days' bicycle 
race, but there's nothing very noble or manly in 
either. So let us add, "that are worth while." Now 
we have a definition of just ten words. Can any one 
give it ? A hero is : A freeman who does hard 
things that are worth while. We '11 say it all together 
three times. 

Put your men alongside this definition, now, and 
see if they measure up. Tom, read the list, slowly, 
and if any of you think that any name there is not a 
hero, by our new definition, sing out ! 

Will, read your list now, and we'll put them to 
the test in the same way. 

I am responsible for John G. Paton being there. 
But instead of telling you why I named him, I 
am going to ask Fred to take this book home with 
him ("Autobiography of John G. Paton," First part, 
pages 266, 267, 318) and read the pages where I have 
put in markers (he can read as much more as he 
wants to), and tell us next week enough about Paton 
for us to decide whether he had any heroism. 






A TALK ABOUT HEROES 3 

One other thing. Who will volunteer to make a 
handsome big sign, on a strip of cloth, say ten feet 
long, of our definition of a hero, and bring it here 
next week, so that we can fasten it up on the wall 
before us and keep it always in sight as we go on 
with these lessons? 

Is it a good thing to get interested in heroes — 
"hero-worship," people call it? Why? Because we 
are pretty sure to grow like the kind of men we 
think most about. If we pick real heroes, our kind — 
what's that definition once more, all together? — then 
we need not be afraid of thinking too much about 
them. 

A well-known man who died a few years ago at 
seventy-three years of age wrote, in the last year of 
his life, about two men that he had seen seventy 
years earlier. When he was about three years old 
he was lifted in his mother's arms to see President 
Andrew Jackson and Vice-President Martin Van 
Buren. This is what he wrote: — 

"To this day nothing that my eyes have ever seen 
in the way of natural scenery equals in impressive- 

ness the sight of a great man and a true one 

I have seen the Alps and the Rocky Mountains, the 
Yosemite, Mount Sinai and the Mountains of 
Lebanon, Niagara Falls, the Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of 
Galilee, but these were as nothing in my memory 
compared with President Jackson, my first hero, and 
the other heroes who have followed him in my 
human gaze." 

Next week we shall begin studying together out 
of the most remarkable "Hero Book" the world has 



4 MEN WHO DARED 

ever had. You know its name? Yes, the Bible. In 
a single year, recently, more than ten million copies 
of the Bible were sold or distributed. A pretty 
popular book, isn't it? We are going to give our 
whole attention to some of the heroes that the older 
part of the book tells about. Who can guess the 
name of the first man we are going to investigate? 
Who was the first hero in the Bible? 

The lesson-studies that you have in your hands 
will show you just how to get ready to make next 
week's lesson even more interesting than to-day's 
was. There is something for you to do each day. 

Once more, all together, on our answer to "What is 
a hero?" Do you notice that word "freeman" at 
the very beginning? What has that to do with bad 
habits that get a strong grip on a fellow, like — well, 
name some. A slave can't be a hero, can he ? 



II 



A SAILOR WHO DARED TO TAKE 
RIDICULE 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

The first boat-builder and sailor that the Bible tells 
about was the grandson of the oldest man that ever 
lived. You will find his name, and his father's and 
grandfather's names, in Gen. 5 : 25-32. 

What was the name of Noah's father? Of his 
grandfather? What prophecy did Noah's father 
make about him when he named Noah? Name 
Noah's sons. 

Second Day 

Things went from bad to worse after Adam sinned 
and lost the Garden of Eden, until finally God de- 
cided on a new plan, and told just one man in all the 
earth about it. Read Gen. 6 : 5-13. 

Why was God grieved? What did he decide to 
do? What do you think "walked with God" meant? 
Why did Noah find favor with God? 

Third Day 

But God decides to save a few people, and he tells 
Noah who they are, and how it is to be done. Read 
Gen. 6:14-22. 

How was God going to destroy "all flesh"? What 
men and women were to be saved? What did Noah 
have to do about it? What is the best thing about 
Noah that you have discovered so far? 



MEN WHO DARED 



Fourth Day 



The flood begins, but not until Noah and his 
family and possessions are safely inside the ark. 
Read Gen. 7:6-16. 

On what day of what month did the flood begin? 
In what two ways did the flood come? How long 
did it rain? 

Fifth Day 

The flood is at its height: does the ark prove to 
be a seaworthy boat? Read Gen. 7: 17 to 8: 5. 

What proved that the water was very deep ? What 
happened to those who were outside the ark? How 
long did the waters continue to increase? In what 
three ways did God make the waters grow less? 
What kind of land first appeared? 

Sixth Day 

Noah does all he can to learn about the land. 
Finally the great day arrives. Read Gen. 8 : 6-20. 

How many times did Noah send out birds? What 
brought him most hope? On what day of what 
month was the earth dry once more? 

Seventh Day 

Noah does not seem to forget God now that he is 
out of the ark, and God makes Noah some remark- 
able promises. Read Gen. 8:20-22; 9:8-19. 

What was the first thing Noah did after he left the 
ark? What two promises did God make to Noah? 
What sign of his promise did God give which we 
still have? 



NOAH 7 

Teaching the Lesson in Class* 

Noah: Genesis 5: 25 to 9: 19 

Who can tell us what the word ridicule means? 
Was any boy here ever ridiculed? Is it fun to be 
ridiculed? Pretty hard, eh? By the way, what is a 
hero? "Hard things that are worth while." But 
you hadn't thought of taking ridicule as the kind of 
hard thing that a hero does? 

We have one hero-report to hear from before we 
answer this question. (Call for the report on John G. 
Paton that was assigned last week to one of the boys, 
and let the class decide, after hearing what Paton did, 
whether he was a hero or not.) 

Now, for our sailor-hero — Bibles closed. Who 
was the oldest man that ever lived? His son's name? 
And his son's name? Let us remember them in 
that order: Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. Who re- 
members what is the first thing that we are told 
about Noah? It was what his father said about him 
when he was a baby ; some one read Gen. 5 : 29. 
"Noah" is from a word naheni, and it means "to 



*As explained in "How to Teach These Lessons" (see pages 
vii to xiii), this teaching section of each lesson is intended to 
suggest an actual plan for conducting the lesson, but is not, 
of course, intended to be read to the class or memorized 
or followed verbatim. Colloquial language is used here, 
simply to suggest the manner of putting things to the class. 
A teacher can readily note the various steps or points sug- 
gested in this section, and then adapt it to his own use. The 
entire Bible passage given at the head of each lesson is to be 
studied by the teacher, but not necessarily all to be used in 
class. Every teacher should be sure to read carefully the 
teaching hints above referred to. 



8 MEN WHO DARED 

comfort." What does comfort mean? Strengthen. 
So "Noah" meant "strength-bringer." We will try 
to discover, a little later, whether his father's words 
came true. 

Does God have favorites ? Gen. 6 : 8 looks as 
though he did. Why was Noah a favorite with God? 
The next verse tells. "Noah walked with God," — 
kept close to him. Well, if that's the way to become 
a favorite with God, anybody can be one. It looks 
as though being a favorite of God depended more 
on ourselves than on God, does it not? 

But what do you think of a man who starts in to 
build a great house-boat, 525 feet long, and 87j4 feet 
wide, and S2 l / 2 feet high, about the size of some ocean 
steamers, — big enough to hold lots of animals and 
birds and creeping things in addition to his own big 
family, in order to be ready for a flood of which no 
sign has yet appeared? No sign, at any rate, that 
his neighbors could see. What do you think his 
neighbors thought of him? What do you suppose 
they said about him, behind his back and to his face? 
Don't you suppose ridicule must have been the regu- 
lar thing wherever Noah showed his face? And 
ridicule is hard medicine to take, I think you said a 
few minutes ago. 

One of the questions in your home readings last 
week asked what was the best thing you had discov- 
ered in Noah? Who will answer that now? Do 
you want to know what / think ? 6 : 22 is the an- 
swer. (Call on a boy to read it aloud.) Now, let 
us all say it together, twice. 

Perhaps you're thinking that if God told you a 
flood was coming, and you were to build an ark to 



NOAH 9 

be saved from it, you'd do it quickly enough; that 
there wasn't much credit to Noah in that. But how 
about that? Do we always do just what God tells 
us to do, even when we know that we shall get into 
trouble if we don't? Has anybody here ever dis- 
obeyed God? It is easy to disobey, isn't it? And 
it is often hard to obey. So let us give old Noah a 
good big credit mark for the fact that "thus did 
Noah; according to all that God commanded him, 
so did he." Perhaps that habit of his was another 
reason why he was a favorite with God. 

You know how it all came out; let us have the 
story. (Call upon one after another to take up and 
carry on the story, asking that mistakes be sharply 
watched for and challenged by other members of the 
class.) 

Now see what happened after the flood was over 
and Noah was safe on dry ground once more. Way 
back in Adam's day, because of Adam's sin, God did 
something to the ground, and told Adam about it. 
(Have Gen. 3:17 read.) But what did Lamech 
prophesy when a boy was born to him? (Gen. 5 : 29.) 
And now it seems as though God, as he sees Noah's 
loving burnt-offering, were contrasting this man 
Noah, who obeyed, with Adam who disobeyed; and 
God says, / will not again curse the ground any 
more for man's sake. No one knows just what the 
curse on the ground was, but it seems plain that it 
lasted only from Adam to Noah, and that it was 
taken away because of Noah's loyalty and obedience. 
So Noah was a comforter or "strength-bringer" to 
the whole world. And the rainbow is a pledge that 
there shall never be another flood. 



10 MEN WHO DARED 

Was it worth while to take ridicule for doing 
what God asked? What is a hero? Does Noah 
measure up to the hero standard? 

Other Teaching Points 

God takes good care of his favorites. He tries to 
take good care of all his children, but often they 
will not let him do what he wants to do for them. 
The more a person does for God, the better things 
God can do for him. 

God told Noah what to do, but God did not do it 
for him. Noah not only had to build the great boat, 
but he had to gather the animals, and get an im- 
mense amount of food laid up for all. There is 
plenty of hard work in God's service, — but not nearly 
as hard as in the devil's service. 

God was not unkind to those who were drowned. 
They were destroying themselves by sin, for sin 
always destroys. He simply hastened the destruction, 
instead of letting it drag on slowly. 

God likes to test men's patience. Those in the ark 
were kept there one year and ten days (Gen. 7: 11; 
8:14). 

Do we always remember to thank God for his 
goodness? It was the first thing Noah thought 
about after the flood was over. 



Ill 

AN UNSELFISH FIGHTER WHO TRUSTED 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

The first long journey in the Bible is recorded in 
Gen. 11:31,32. Find the two places there men- 
tioned on the map, and decide with the help of the 
scale how many miles the journey was. The son, 
Abram, keeps up the journeying. Read Gen. 12: 1-9. 

What promise did God make Abram? Who went 
with him ? How far was it from Haran to Shechem ? 
Trace the journey on the map. 

Second Day 

Abram kept right on traveling, even after he had 
reached the land to which God sent him. And he 
came near getting into trouble. See if you can de- 
cide why by reading Gen. 12: 10-20. 

Why did Abram go to Egypt? What was he 
afraid might happen to him there? What do you 
think of the plan that Abram and Sarai decided on? 
What do you think of the way Pharaoh acted? 

Third Day 

Abram and his nephew Lot have to separate, and 
Abram decides on a novel plan. See what you 
think of it by reading Gen. 13 : 1-13. 

Why was it necessary for them to separate? Who 
took first choice? Why did Lot choose the Plain of 
the Jordan? 



12 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

Lot gets into trouble, when five kings commence 
fighting against four. Who do you suppose comes to 
the rescue? Read Gen. 14: 8-16. 

Which set of kings first won, the five or the four? 
Who fought with Abram? Find on the map how 
far he pursued the kings. 

Fifth Day 

Abram rescued not only people, but riches, when 
he defeated the four kings. What did he do with the 
wealth? Read Gen. 14: 17-24. 

What kings went to meet Abram after his victory? 
What reason do you think Abram had for not touch- 
ing the rescued goods ? 

Sixth Day 

Abram's name is changed to a name that means 
more. Read Gen. 17 : 1-8. 

Why was Abram's name changed? What did God 
promise him then? If you were going to be given 
a new name that would describe you, what kind of 
name would you like to have? 

Seventh Day 

Abraham prays for the city that he saved. Read 
Gen. 17:1-5; 18:20-33. 

Why was God going to destroy Sodom and Go- 
morrah? What reason did Abraham give why God 
should save the cities? Why do you think Abraham 
stopped praying when he did ? 



ABRAHAM 13 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Abraham: Genesis 11:27 to 21:8 

How much money do you suppose an anchor is 
worth — not a "catboat" anchor, but the kind an ocean 
liner uses? And how much is the great chain cable 
worth that lets the anchor down until it grapples firm 
hold? (Let the boys guess at this, and then tell 
them: About $800 for an anchor, and about $4,000 
for the cable.) 

Well, then, what would you say of the captain of 
an ocean liner who deliberately cut the cable of his 
anchor after it had been let down, and steamed 
away, losing both anchor and cable in the ocean? 
Yes, I thought so. But I know of a captain who did 
just that. And before you make up your minds 
about him, let me tell you the story. 

A few years ago a North German Lloyd steam- 
ship was anchored in the harbor of Gibraltar. The 
captain gave orders to get up the anchor. The little 
donkey engine puffed at its task, but went slower and 
slower, until finally the crank broke, and a hundred 
feet of chain shot out. The anchor was caught in 
the rocks. A gale was blowing, and a heavy sea run- 
ning. The ship began to drift rapidly upon a fleet 
of British men-of-war. The captain rushed down 
from the bridge, and shouted instant orders to cut 
the anchor-chain. A mechanic with a huge cold 
chisel and sledge began to cut one of the mighty 
links. When only a thin strip of metal was left, the 
captain himself took the final responsibility, and with 
a small hatchet cut the last vestige of iron. The link 



14 MEN WHO DARED 

split open like torn cloth under the great strain, 
and they left the valuable anchor, chain and all, in 
the bottom of the harbor, and in a few hours had 
reached a sea where all was calm and peace. 

It makes a difference what we cut loose the an- 
chor for, doesn't it? — what we are going to gain by 
losing. And in the case of the ocean liner the whole 
vessel was saved by losing a very small fraction of 
her value. That was an easy choice to make, was it 
not? 

Did Abraham have to do anything like cutting 
loose from a valuable anchor? Some one read the 
first verse of Gen. 12. He had a hard choice to 
make : on the one side his own homeland and family 
and friends; on the other, a desert journey into an 
unknown land, leaving behind everything in life that 
seems worth while. 

But was there any good reason for going? What 
was it? (Gen. 12: 1, 2.) So God told him to go, and 
promised no end of good things if he would obey. 
Nothing hard about that, then, you say? Wait a 
minute; isn't it hard to obey God even when we 
know that he promises plenty of good things to 
those who obey him? There was a boy in New 
York City not a great while ago who had to make 
Abram's choice. His father was a saloon-keeper. 
One day he came to his Sunday-school superintendent 
and said: — 

"Father says that I have got to serve the bar now 
on Sundays. What shall I do?" 

"What do you think you ought to do?" asked the 
superintendent. 

"I ought not to serve." 



ABRAHAM 15 

"Well," was the answer, "I have nothing to say- 
to you." 

The boy went on: "But father says if I don't 
serve the bar on Sundays I can pack and get out. 
What do you think I ought to do?" 

"What do you think you ought to do?" came the 
question again. 

"I ought to pack and get out," answered the boy. 

"Very well," said the superintendent. "I have 
nothing to say to you excepting, when your father 
asks you to serve his bar, that you answer respect- 
fully, and say: 'Father, I will do anything for you 
that is not contrary to the laws of God and man, 
but that is contrary to both/ " 

The next Sunday the command came to serve the 
bar, and the boy answered as his friend had sug- 
gested. The father lost his temper and angrily said, 
"Then, march." And the boy put up all he had in a 
red handkerchief and marched out into the streets of 
New York, with no place to sleep and nothing to 
eat.* 

It was Abram's choice over again, was it not? For 
God's call is simply the call to do right, and it is 
almost always hard. 

(Take a moment to get a boy to show the route 
on the wall map, or on a smaller one, first from Ur 
to Haran, then from Haran to Shechem.) 

How many of these Old Testament heroes were 
perfect men, never doing wrong or making a mistake ? 
Not a single one of them. That ought to encourage 
us. They had to fight the same weakness in them- 



*From Dr. A. F. Schauffler's "Pastoral Leadership of 
Sunday School Forces." 



16 MEN WHO DARED 

selves that we have to fight. Does any one know of 
a mistake, a real bit of cowardice, in Abram's life? 
(Let the Egypt incident — Gen. 12:10-20 — be dis- 
cussed.) 

When Abram and Lot got so rich that they had to 
separate, and go to different parts of the country, 
who took first choice? No, sir (if some one an- 
swers "Lot") ; but I thought you'd say that. Abram 
took first choice. You don't believe it? Abram took 
first choice by choosing to give Lot his choice. 
Abram chose to give the other fellow first choice. 
And that 's z. pretty good kind of first choice to 
make, isn't it? Let's remember that: always take 
first choice, if you do it Abram's way. 

Lot chose the best thing in sight, as it seemed to 
him; looked out for number one — and soon got into 
trouble. Who will tell the story of the first great 
battle in the Bible (Gen. 14: 1-16) ? 

And how did Abram give the king of Sodom a 
big surprise after the battle was over and Abram had 
won everything (14: 17-24) ? Was that hard or easy 
to do, do you think? Abram was a fighter, but he 
fought for others, and would not take for himself 
anything that his victory had won. Let us make this 
a part of our heroism rule, then : when you must 
fight, fight hard, and fight to win ; but never fight for 
what you are going to get out of it; fight only for 
some one else. The United States surprised the 
whole world a few years ago as Abram surprised the 
king of Sodom (tell how the United States' war with 
Spain was not for conquest and acquisition, but for 
the liberation of others, and how she kept her promise 
with Cuba though people thought she would not). 



ABRAHAM 17 

Abram — his name is changed now to Abraham, 
"father of a multitude" — knew how to pray. Many 
men who really do things in this world know how to 
pray, and never try anything hard without praying 
first. One of the best baseball pitchers Yale ever 
had is said to have prayed that he might pitch well 
before going into a game. (Call on one or two boys 
to tell of God's plan for Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
how Abraham prayed for the cities.) Will God do 
anything we pray to him for? No. He will do any- 
thing that is best for us, if we pray about it. So it 
is a good thing to know what not to pray for, as 
well as what to pray for; or to be willing to let 
God decide, if we are uncertain. Abraham knew 
when to stop praying. He stopped when he believed 
he had asked God for all that God ought to do. 
Therefore his prayer was successful : it brought him 
closer to God, Lot was saved, God's will in wiping 
out the terribly sinning cities was not blocked. 

What is a hero? What hard-things-worth- while 
did Abraham do? But you don't know yet the 
hardest thing in his whole life, — that is coming next 
week. 

Other Teaching Points 

The first thing Abram did at his first two stopping- 
places was to remember God (Gen. 12:7,8). 

A half-truth may be a whole lie (Gen. 12:13; 
20:12). 

Give the distances from Ur to Haran (500 miles), 
and Haran to Shechem (350 miles), not only in miles, 
but by a comparison that will be familiar to the boys ; 
e. g. Chicago to Buffalo, Philadelphia to Cleveland, 



18 MEN WHO DARED 

Detroit to St. Louis, Boston to Baltimore; and Bos- 
ton to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, etc. 

"Extensive excavations at Ur have never been un- 
dertaken, although Mr. Taylor dug into a few of 
the other mounds and obtained a glimpse of the life 
of the people of Abraham's time. He uncovered 
a house in a fairly perfect state of preservation. 
In such a house Abraham was born and lived as a 
boy. It was square, with mud walls, a single story 
high, and with a flat roof. The one room was dark, 
for the only light entered by the doorway. The floor 
was the hard ground, perhaps once covered by reed 
mats. The furniture was exceedingly simple, for 
then as now the people sat and slept upon the ground, 
and when they ate, they squatted about a common 
tray. A few jars for water, a hollow stone for 
pounding the grain, a few bronze implements and 
mats were the only furnishings/'* 

Abram not only started out to do hard things at 
God's call; he kept it up all his life. It has been 
well said : "The prizes are not to the starters ; they 
are to the arrivers. But there is no arriving without 
starting." 



* Edgar James Banks, in "The Sunday School Times" of 
January 26, 1907. 



IV 

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT FIGHT 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

A boy gets his first training in self-control in a 
life-and-death scene with his father. Read Gen. 
22:1-8. 

Why did God ask Abraham to do this (ver. 1)? 
Do you think Isaac knew what God's plan was? 
Do you think Abraham knew? 

Second Day 

Abraham meets the hardest test of his whole life, 
and is glad that he did. Read Gen. 22 : 9-13. 

Do you think, now, that Abraham knew all the 
time what God had in store for him ? What blessing 
did God promise Abraham? 

Third Day 

A famine makes Isaac think of taking a trip to 
Egypt as his father had done years before. But 
God stops him. Read Gen. 26 : 1-5. 

Find on the map Gerar and Philistia. Why do 
you think God forbade Isaac's going down to Egypt? 
Find a promise God made to Abraham like this 
promise to Isaac. 

Fourth Day 

God seems to be keeping his promise, and Isaac's 
crops and herds multiply. Read Gen. 26: 12-17. 



20 MEN WHO DARED 

Why did the Philistines envy Isaac? What did 
they do for spite? What did Isaac do about it? 

Fifth Day 

When a man attends to his own business and works 
hard, people say he "says nothing and saws wood/' 
Isaac says nothing and digs wells. Read Gen. 26: 
18-22. 

What did Isaac do about the wells of his father 
which the Philistines had stopped up? How many 
times did they steal his wells? 

Sixth Day 

Sometimes God approves fighting, and sometimes 
he does not. Did he seem to approve what Isaac 
had done? Read Gen. 26:23-25. 

What earlier promise of God's to Isaac was like 
this ? Find Beersheba on the map. 

Seventh Day 

What do you suppose the Philistines thought of 
Isaac for the way he had been taking their unfair 
attacks ? Read Gen. 26 : 26-33. 

Why did Abimelech want to make this bargain with 
Isaac? What do you think of Isaac for making it? 



ISAAC 21 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Isaac: Genesis 22 to 26 

Men who are digging with pick and spade in 
Palestine and Egypt and Mesopotamia, the lands of 
the Bible, to see what they can discover of the life 
of old days, have turned up wonderful things. A 
few years ago a young Englishman started digging 
in the land of Canaan, where Abraham lived, and 
one of the most striking things he found was — what 
do you suppose ? By the altars and high places where 
the old Canaanites worshiped their heathen gods, 
were the bones of babies and little children. And 
what did that mean? It meant that the Canaanites 
used to sacrifice children to their gods, kill them on 
the altars of the gods, just as in India mothers have 
thrown live babies into the sacred river Ganges, 
thinking to please their gods in this way. 

Abraham, who worshiped our God, the only true 
God, undoubtedly saw such sacrifices going on 
among the Canaanite people in whose land he lived. 
One day God said to him, as it were, "Abraham, 
would you be willing to do as much for me as these 
neighbors of yours are doing for their false gods?" 
That seems to have been the reason why Abraham 
was put to what seems like such a cruel test. It 
was a practice that Abraham was perfectly familiar 
with, and it did not seem to him as horrible and 
unnatural as it would to us to-day. 

Abraham had made a habit of obedience by this 
time, and he met this hardest test of all in the way 
he had met other tests. But it must have been 



22 MEN WHO DARED 

awfully hard for him. God's promises depended on 
the life of this only son; and God now asks that he 
be offered up! 

What a soldier-training for that boy! He must 
have known that something very unusual was ahead, 
as he set out with his father to the mountain. But 
he evidently knew nothing of God's plan, as he asked 
his father about the sacrifice ; yet he caught his 
father's spirit of soldier-like obedience, self-control, 
and trust in the Commander. And there is no 
record of any struggle or rebellion on the boy's part 
as the time came for him to be bound and laid on 
the altar. Wouldn't you like to have yourself and 
your nerves under such control as that? Every one 
of you can, if you make that habit of obedience your 
habit. 

How glad both Abraham and Isaac must have been 
that they obeyed, after it was all over, and the ram 
had been offered up, and father and son were not 
separated after all ! How sorry and ashamed they 
would have felt if they had rebelled and then had 
learned that God never intended that Isaac should 
be killed, but only that he should be offered, as he 
was ! For even Abraham did not know beforehand 
what God's plan was ; if he had known, it would have 
been no test. 

No man can be a real hero unless he is ready to 
forget himself and give up anything, everything, at 
God's call, — that is, in order to do right. Now let us 
see whether this early training in self-control and 
self-forgetfulness and heroism affected the man that 
the boy Isaac grew to be. 

Isaac has grown up and married and is living — 



ISAAC 23 

where? Some one show us on the map (Gerar in 
Philistia). He is getting very rich, — God likes to 
trust riches to those who trust and obey him. Some 
folks have the idea that piety and poverty must go 
together. There is nothing of that sort in the 
Bible, but just the opposite (have a boy read Mark 
10:29,30). Now let two of you (naming two boys) 
tell us what happened to Isaac after the Philistines 
began to envy him (Gen. 26: 15-22). 

It looks as though Isaac just wore out his enemies 
by refusing to fight. Honestly, what do you think of 
him? Coward? Soft? No sand? Did it take 
"sand" to go through without a murmur what he 
did that day in the mountains, as he looked up at the 
sharp edge of the shining knife in his father's hands ? 
Does God promise to bless cowards? Yet God made 
a special promise to Isaac after he had refused to 
fight for his rights. Do men usually come to a 
"soft" man, a coward, and ask him to enter into an 
agreement not to harm them? But that is what the 
king of Philistia did as he and his captain came and 
begged Isaac to be good to them. 

No, boys; whatever was Isaac's reason for not 
smashing those Philistines who filled up his father's 
wells and ran his herdsmen out of their own, you 
can't honestly say it was cowardice. It looks as 
though Isaac was simply refusing to fight for his 
own selfish interests, — and it takes a mighty brave 
man to do that. There is nothing in the whole world 
so hard as to let other people unfairly take your 
"rights" away from you; and yet often there is 
nothing in the world that pays a fellow so well as 
to do just that. Abram, his father, had fought, but 



24 MEN WHO DARED 

to protect other people, you remember, not himself; 
just as the right kind of chap will take no end of 
cheap abuse and bluff from a bully without soiling his 
hands to pay it back, yet who will thrash that same 
bully soundly the moment he starts in to make life 
miserable for a little fellow who can't defend himself. 
You remember the righting part of our heroism 
rule of last week? "When you must fight, fight hard, 
and fight to win; but never fight for what you are 
going to get out of it; fight only for some one else!' 
Sometimes a boy's hardest fight will be the fight with 
himself to keep from fighting. But such fighting 
makes a freeman-hero. A hero whose case we are 
going to study later said : — 

" He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty ; 
And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a 
city." 

Did Isaac do anything hard in his lifetime? Was 
it worth while? Does he measure up to the hero 
test? 



A CRIPPLED HERO WHO SURRENDERED 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

What do you think of a boy who "drives a sharp 
bargain," and gets the best of the other fellow every 
time ? Do heroes do that ? Read Gen. 25 : 27-34. 

In what was Esau skillful? Do you admire Esau 
for what he did here? Give your reasons. Do you 
admire Jacob for what he did here? Why? 

Second Day 

Jacob and his mother seem to be afraid that that 
sharp bargain with Esau did not clinch the matter, 
for they plan a scheme to beat him again. Read 
Gen. 27:1-17. 

Which was the older of the two sons? How was 
Jacob's mother going to imitate the venison (deer 
meat)? What was Jacob afraid of? How was 
Jacob made to seem like Esau ? Was this plan better 
or worse than Jacob's pottage bargain with Esau? 

Third Day 

When a man who has learned to drive sharp bar- 
gains needs to lie to help himself out, do you think 
he will hesitate to do so? Jacob got into a corner 
here. Read Gen. 27 : 18-29. 

Count the lies Jacob told; how many were there? 
Which was the worst one? Do you think that a 
"blessing" gotten that way would help a person? 



26 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

The thing was only half done until Esau got back 
with his venison : now see what happened. Read 
Gen. 27:30-41. 

Which son had Isaac wanted to bless most? Why? 
What did Esau want to do to Jacob? 

Fifth Day 

It is time for Jacob to run for his life, and his 
mother and he know it. But they do not know what 
is going to happen to him on his journey. Read 
Gen. 27 : 42-45 ; 28:10-22. 

How long did Jacob's mother expect him to be 
gone? Find Beersheba and Haran on the map, and 
draw the journey. What was God's promise, in your 
own words? 

Sixth Day 

Almost forty years have passed ; Jacob has a family 
of his own, and is on his way back to his old home. 
But he still fears Esau. Read Gen. 32: 3-11 ; 22-31. 

What was Jacob's plan for saving at least some of 
his party from Esau? What do you thing of Jacob's 
prayer? What was the best thing in it? Why did 
God cripple Jacob? 

Seventh Day 

The two brothers come face to face after almost 
forty years. Who wins now? Read Gen. 33: 1-11. 

What did Esau do when he met Jacob? Why do 
you think Esau so freely forgave Jacob? 



JACOB 27 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Jacob: Genesis 25: 19-34; 27 : 1 to 33: 20; 47 : 8, 9 

Perhaps you've been wondering, as you read your 
Bible this last week, who the hero was; and, if it 
was Jacob, where the heroism came in. One thing 
is sure : there was plenty in Jacob that was not 
hero stuff, and there were things he did that a hero 
would be ashamed of. What were they? (Call out 
from the boys the facts of the pottage and venison 
incidents.) 

Now I want to tell you something that was not 
in the Bible readings you had. When Esau and 
Jacob were born, God had told Rebekah, their 
mother, that the younger, Jacob, should be the 
leader and the stronger of the two. He had made it 
plain that the promises to. Abraham and Isaac, about 
a great people, were to be carried out through Jacob, 
not through Esau. Rebekah had God's word for this. 
Jacob undoubtedly knew it through his mother. Now 
what do you think of the sharp bargain and the lies ? 

The birthright and the blessing had been prom- 
ised to Jacob by God from the very start. But Jacob 
and Rebekah seemed to think that God could not be 
trusted to carry out his plans himself, so they tried 
to help him out with a little sharp practice, and 
some lies. Perhaps they called them "white" lies, or 
"justifiable." When is a lie justifiable? Never, 
while earth or heaven stands. God is a God of 



28 MEN WHO DARED 

truth.* The devil is the father of lies.f God could 
not lie and be God. When we think that a time has 
come when a lie is necessary for some good end, we 
say, in effect, "God is now powerless to help me ; I 
will leave him and turn to the devil, the father of 
lies, for help." (No bigger lesson can be lodged in 
the hearts and minds of your boys than this of the 
eternal enmity between God and the lie. Few people, 
even among Christians, fully understand the differ- 
ence. To become full of the subject, read H. Clay 
Trumbull's little volume, "A Lie Never Justifiable.") 

No real blessing was ever won by a sharp bargain 
or by lying. Jacob got no blessing from these things. 
He was a brainy fellow, a keen, shrewd, able man; 
but none of the hero has appeared yet. What he has 
done so far has been to sow misery for himself and 
for others. His mother thought it would be all right 
if he went away for a few days. He went, — and she 
never saw her boy again in this world. How long 
was it before he came back? (Almost forty years.) 

To what kind of people is God most ready to send 
special help, good people or bad people? (You are 
likely to get the answer, "Good people" ; if you do, 
startle the class a little by promptly disagreeing with 
that answer.) No, sir; God is just as ready to help 
bad folks as good. In fact, the more a person needs 
God's help, the more eager to help him God seems 
to be. 

Jacob was pretty well down now, wasn't he? An 
exile from home, his brother ready to kill him, on a 
long, dangerous journey into an unknown land, and 



* Psalms 31: 5, 146: 6. 
f John 8 : 44. 



JACOB 29 

knowing all the time that he had been doing wrong — 
a terrible wrong. Could any fellow feel much worse 
than he must have felt that night as he lay down to 
sleep, all alone? What did he see before the night 
was over? And what did he hear (Gen. 28: 10-15) ? 
God, without a word of reproach, just lovingly prom- 
ised to stand by him and to fulfill the promise made 
to his father and grandfather. That's a way God 
has. He was trying to bring Jacob to himself by re- 
minding him of the big responsibilities that lay 
ahead for him. 

It made a deep impression on the homesick man, 
but that was about all. For the next forty years he 
kept up his tricks and deceptions and sharp prac- 
tices, until one night he was crippled into new life. 
It was that night when he was so afraid of the 
meeting with Esau next day, — that night when the 
greatest wrestling match in history happened. 

But before we look into that let me tell you about 
a Connecticut boy who went into the Northern army 
in the Civil War, and who was made a lieutenant. 
(The true incident is as follows; the better way is to 
memorize the facts and tell the story in your own 
words, rather than to read it) : — 

When first I joined my regiment in North Carolina, I 
found there a young lieutenant, whom I had known as an 
active, earnest Christian worker in his Connecticut home. 
As I was looking up the members of my new charge, I called 
on him in his tent, and said something of my hope to have 
his help in work for my Master. 

"No, no, Chaplain," said he, "I've given up all that stuff. 
I know now that there's no truth in it, and I don't want to 
hear a word on the subject." 

"You are not saying now what you believe, Lieutenant." 

"What do you mean, Chaplain?" 

"I mean that I know you well enough to understand that 



30 MEN WHO DARED 

what you said and did, for years, in your faithful Christian 
work and in your Sunday-school teaching, has not been given 
up by you out of your inmost heart. You can talk this way 
to me now, to try to stiffen up your courage of resistance; 
but when the camp is quiet, and you are alone on your bunk 
in the darkness, you would never talk in this way to your 
God, who you know is near you always." 

"Well," he said, somewhat more gently, "I don't want to 
talk about this subject, at any rate." 

"But I must talk about it," I said. "It's very real to me. 
And I'm here because of my belief. I love you too dearly 
to refrain from speaking to you, and urging you to come back 
to your old love and faith and duty and joy." .... 

After a little there came on a battle in which our regiment 
lost severely. Several temporary hospitals were opened in 
small dwelling-houses in different parts of the field of action. 
As I was occupied in one of these hospitals, I heard that my 
lieutenant friend lay wounded in another. As soon as I had 
opportunity, I went over to see him. His right leg had been 
amputated near the hip. He lay on a cot among many 
wounded. Looking up as I approached, he said cheerily : 

"The Lord has got me, Chaplain. I wouldn't serve Him 
with two legs, so He took away one. But now I'll be more 
of a man with one leg than I was with two." 

Then as I spoke warmly of my sympathy with and interest 
in him, he told of his experience and feelings. 

"As my leg went out from under me, and I felt I was 
gone, I said, 'The Lord's got me, and I'm glad of it.' You 
were right, Chaplain, that day you came to my tent first, I 
never really gave up my belief, or had any rest in my life 
trying to live without faith. And now I believe I shall live 
nearer the Lord than ever, and have more comfort in him." 

He was confident that he should soon be restored to 
health, and that he should use his new strength in the Lord's 
service. I had pleasant interviews with him as he talked of 
his plans in Christ's service, and he gave convincing evidence 
of his Christian love and faith. But the shock of the ampu- 
tation was severer than he at first supposed, and he soon sank 
away to his final rest. The prodigal had returned to his 
loving Father's home.* 



*From "Individual Work for Individuals," by H. Clay 
Trumbull. 



JACOB 31 

Jacob, like that lieutenant, had been fighting God. 
That was the trouble with him — it is the trouble with 
some of the rest of us. But God had big plans for 
Jacob, if Jacob would only stop fighting him, and 
work with him. So God decided to bring the fight 
to a finish that night, if he could — for it depended 
upon Jacob more than upon God — the fight that 
Jacob had been waging against God all his lifetime. 
And he put the fight in a way that Jacob could un- 
derstand, a wrestling match; for you know there is 
nothing in the world that has so many tricks in it, 
and chances for deception and fouls and dirty work, 
as wrestling. Jacob ought to be good at it ! 

He was. But after he had wrestled all night Jacob 
had not gained any advantage; and then, just as if 
to show him how useless it was to fight God, the 
Wrestler touches — just lays his finger on — Jacob's 
thigh, and the muscle is strained. It was God's 
way of bringing Jacob to his senses, so that he might 
decide how he would treat God for the rest of his 
life. And now Jacob does something hard, — and 
worth while. He holds on to the One who had 
crippled him. He does not let him go, as he might 
have done. You can almost hear him say, with the 
young lieutenant : "The Lord 's got me, and I 'm 
glad of it. I '11 be more of a man with one leg than 
I was with two." 

When a man stops fighting God, and holds on to 
God, even though God has had to hurt him for his 
own good, then God can bless him in the way he 
wants to. God blessed Jacob quickly now. He 
changed his name from "Supplanter" to "God's cap- 



32 MEN WHO DARED 

tain." And you remember what a beautiful surprise 
was ahead for Jacob the next day (Gen. 33: 1-11). 

By his tricks and lies Jacob had delayed for many 
weary years the blessing that God intended for him. 
He got the blessing and birthright finally, not be- 
cause he had taken advantage of Esau and deceived 
his father, but after he had repented of all that and 
had put Esau into first place (Gen. 32:4,5). He 
finally did a hard thing that was worth while, and 
he gave up his fight against God ; but he had to be 
crippled to do it. 

Boys, don't make God cripple you to save you. It 
is better to be crippled into heroic life, as Jacob was, 
than to live and die God's enemy; but it is better still 
to start life on God's side, never fighting him, and 
never making it necessary for him to bring you down 
in a heap. 



VI 



A BOY WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN LUCK 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

To learn how a fancy coat and curious dreams 
made a boy disliked, read Gen. 37: 1-11. 

What two names had Joseph's father? How old 
was Joseph at this time? Mention several reasons 
why you think Joseph's brothers hated him. 

Second Day 

Joseph is sent on an errand, and goes farther than 
he expected to. Read Gen. 37 : 12-28. 

Find Shechem on the map, and Dothan. Why did 
the brothers, do you think, want to get rid of Joseph ? 
What was their first plan? Their second plan? 
Their final plan? 

Third Day 

Joseph gets a pretty good start in Egypt, but it 
doesn't seem to last long. Read Gen. 39 : 1-6, 19-23. 

What official of Pharaoh's bought Joseph? Why 
was Joseph promoted so fast? Why was Joseph put 
into prison? How did he get on in prison? 

Fourth Day 

Some other people than Joseph get into trouble, 
and dream dreams as he used to. Read Gen. 40: 
1-23. 



34 MEN WHO DARED 

Who were the two men thrown into prison with 
Joseph? Describe the two dreams. What did 
Joseph say the two dreams meant? 

Fifth Day 

And now a bigger man than any of them has 
dreams, and somebody remembers Joseph. Read 
Gen. 41 : 1-16. 

Describe the dreams of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 
Who told Pharaoh about Joseph? To whom did 
Joseph give credit for his power to interpret dreams ? 

Sixth Day 

Joseph tries his hand at interpreting a king's 
dreams, and something unexpected happens. Read 
Gen. 41 : 25-43. 

What did Joseph say the king's dreams meant? 
What did Joseph advise the king to do ? What posi- 
tion did the king give Joseph ? 

Seventh Day 

What about Joseph's old enemies, his brothers, all 
these years ? There is a strange time ahead for them. 
Read Gen. 42:1-8; 45:1-5,9-11. 

What drove Joseph's brothers down into Egypt? 
How did he treat them at first ? What did he say to 
them later? What did he do for his whole family? 



JOSEPH 35 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Joseph: Genesis 37 to 50 

What is "luck"? Was any fellow here ever 
lucky? Tell us about it. Was any fellow here ever 
unlucky? Well, tell us about that. 

You know that young Hebrew shepherd boy 
Joseph pretty well now, — you Ve been living with him 
all the week. Was he lucky, or unlucky? Both, 
you say? Tell me first how he was lucky? Yes; he 
was his father's favorite, to begin with; he had spe- 
cially fine clothes to wear; his very dreams foretold 
his good luck. Later a master in Egypt pushed him 
right to the front, and finally he had a position next 
to the king. Folks who believe in luck would say 
Joseph had more than his share of it, would n't they? 
And lots of people say that if a man is only "born 
lucky," nothing can stop him from winning. 

Those same people say that if a fellow has luck 
against him, he can't win, no matter how hard he 
tries. I wonder what they would say of Joseph's 
prospects if you told them only the unlucky side 
of his story. What was it? He had a good start, — 
better than the average, but he couldn't win with 
luck against him. Even after his hard luck had be- 
gun, with the pit episode, he would have escaped 
from that pit if he had had any kind of luck, but as 
chance would have it, along came the Ishmaelites 
just then and gave him another set-back. And then, 
with things seemingly in his favor for a while with 
Potiphar down in Egypt, out crops his hard luck 



36 MEN WHO DARED 

again in the unjust imprisonment. What's the use 
of trying, with luck dead against you like that? 



Let the boys have both sides of the case, in some 
such way, and ask them squarely if it would not be 
possible to make Joseph a pretty good argument 
for either good luck or bad luck, if one is thinking 
mostly about luck. Just there lies the whole trouble. 
To the one who gives luck any place in life as a 
real factor, everything is luck, and everything can be 
explained by luck. Of course, most of the purpose 
and zest in life is destroyed for such a one : the 
most that he can do is to hope for luck, or grumble 
at his hard luck. Here is one of the strongest 
arguments against cards and betting. They tend 
to give chance too much emphasis for healthy living. 

Now ask the boys to sweep the whole absurd and 
cowardly talk about luck aside and study Joseph's 
case intelligently. For he was a fellow who didn't 
believe in luck for a minute. If he had, he might 
never have gotten out of Potiphar's prison. He 
would only have spent his time there grumbling 
about his hard luck, instead of forgetting himself 
and seeing what he could do for other folks. 

After Joseph had been sold to Captain Potiphar, 
of the King's Guard, we are told that he was "pros- 
perous," and why. What was the reason (Gen. 
39 : 2) ? "Jehovah was with Joseph." But anybody 
could be prosperous if God was with him, you say? 
Well, why was God with him, — was it just God's 
favoritism? No; I believe God was with Joseph 
because Joseph was with God. Won't God be with 



JOSEPH 37 

any one who does as Joseph did? God does have 
favorites, but they are those who make God their 
favorite. So any one can have God with him. 

Do you think an Egyptian captain would promote 
a Hebrew boy so fast simply because he saw that 
the boy was true to God ? No ; there must have been 
another reason. And that? What's the reason for 
getting promoted anywhere. Joseph deserved it. 
He made good. He wasn't afraid of hard work, and 
he did it well, — a little better than anybody else. 
So he went to the top. And he snapped his fingers 
at luck. 

Until he found himself in prison ! But I believe 
he did so even there. Now I want you to tell me, 
step by step, how Joseph got to the top again, in 
prison and out again, and then we will decide how 
much place luck had in his life. 

Draw out from the boys the fact that it was the 
same ability in prison that made such a good im- 
pression on his keeper : Joseph's thoughtful interest 
in others that led to interpreting the prison-dreams; 
the tardily remembered service to the chief butler 
that led to the opportunity to serve Pharaoh; and 
Joseph's complete trust in God that made him suc- 
cessful in his interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. 
Pharaoh's promoting was for the same reason as 
Potiphar's ; both saw not only that this young fel- 
low was to be trusted, but also that he could do 
things. 

His brothers had no right to expect to be forgiven. 
That is why it was Joseph's great chance. It is when 
the other fellow is wrong and we are right, that we 
have our biggest opportunity to forgive. True for- 



38 MEN WHO DARED 

giveness is unreasonable, — that is the way God for- 
gives us, and likes to have us forgive others. 

Joseph did not believe in luck, — that is why he 
got somewhere. No man who believes in luck gets 
anywhere to stay — except down. Did Joseph do any- 
thing hard that was worth while? Was it hard to 
be cheerful and willing and a tireless worker in 
captivity, — as Potiphar's slave? And in prison? 
Was it hard to give God the credit for the dream- 
interpretation, when he might have claimed it all 
himself? Was it hard, perhaps, even to be nice to 
his brothers who had sold him? He did a good 
many things that were hard and worth while. Then 
he must have been a ? 

Other Teaching Points 

Joseph was a freeman even while he was a slave 
and in prison. Why? And there are some fellows 
who are not in prison who are nevertheless not free. 

It was not necessary for Joseph's brothers to sin 
in order to get Joseph into Egypt. God could have 
taken him there in some other way. 

The life of each boy in the class is planned by God 
just as carefully as Joseph's was. But we can spoil 
God's plans if we will. 

Dr. Babcock's verse in "School Days" is worth 
learning : 

" Lord, let me make this rule, 
To think of life as school, 
And try my best 
To stand each test 
And do my work, 
And nothing shirk." 



VII 

A MAN WHO DARED THE IMPOSSIBLE 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

Joseph is dead, and his brothers' families have 
grown into a great multitude of people in Egypt. 
There are hard times ahead for them. Read Ex. 
1:8-14; 2:1-10. 

Why did the new king fear the children of Israel? 
How did he try to crush them? Describe the baby 
Moses' start in life. Was it a good one? Why? 

Second Day 

Moses has been having a good time while his peo- 
ple are having a hard time. He cannot endure it 
very long and one day he acts. Read Ex. 2: 11-15, 
23-25. 

Why did Moses kill the Egyptian? Was it mur- 
der? Give your reasons. Find Midian on your map. 

Third Day 

Perhaps Moses thought his chance to help his peo- 
ple in Egypt was ended the day he fled for his life. 
Read Ex. 3 : 1-12. 

How did God get Moses' attention? What did God 
say he had seen? What did God promise? What 
did God ask Moses to do ? 



40 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

It took a long, discouraging time to get Pharaoh 
to let the children of Israel leave his land. He finally- 
agreed to do so, after God had sent terrible plagues 
upon the Egyptians. Moses is the leader, and the 
Israelites are just starting to leave, when they seem 
to be caught in a trap. Read Ex. 14 : 1-12. 

Why do you think Pharaoh changed his mind about 
letting the people go? Had the people a right to be 
so discouraged? Why? 

Fifth Day 

It doesn't seem to trouble Moses much; he de- 
cides to trust God to bring his people out of the trap. 
Read Ex. 14:13, 14, 21-31. 

Upon whom does Moses put the responsibility for 
the rescue? What miracle did God work? Describe 
what happened to the Israelites and to the Egyptians. 

Sixth Day 

God calls Moses up into a mountain to give him 
the greatest laws the world has ever known. Read 
Ex. 19:1-6; 20:1-17. 

Find Mount Sinai on the map. Learn the Ten 
Commandments by heart. 

Seventh Day 

For forty years Moses and the children of Israel 
have lived in the wilderness; Moses and God have 
brought them through the "impossible" over and over 
again. Now it is Moses' time to die. Read Deut. 
34:1-7. 

Find the land of Moab on the map. What do you 
think was the most remarkable thing about Moses? 



MOSES 41 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Moses: Exodus 1 to 14, 19, 20; Deuteronomy 34 

Did you ever see a baseball or a football team that 
played a great game while it was winning, but that 
went all to pieces if things began to go against it? 
And did you ever see a team of just the other kind, — 
the kind that puts up its stiffest fight when it has 
an uphill game to play? Which kind do you like 
best? 

Did it strike you that Moses was an up-hill kind of 
man, as you read about him last week? Well, he 
was ; when everything was going against him, he 
had a way of pulling things together and winning. 
But he wasn't always that way. Let us take a look 
at him again. 

He had "iron in his blood," to begin with, for his 
people, before he was born, were having pretty severe 
training in Egypt. Some one tell us about that. 
(Call out the facts of Pharaoh's oppression, and tell 
of his edict to kill the male children.) 

But what do you think of the life he floated into 
in that little bulrush-basket of his? Hard, or easy, 
to be adopted by a king's daughter? Probably he 
grew up used to having his own way, without much 
training in uphill work. His first real excitement 
was that day when he saw an Egyptian beating a 
Hebrew. What do you think of what Moses did 
then? (Show that while his spirit was commend- 
able, his method was wrong. By exercising self- 
control Moses might have retained his influence with 



42 MEN WHO DARED 

the king and perhaps almost have duplicated Joseph's 
position, eventually bringing about a peaceful release 
of his people.) 

It looked as though he had lost his chance, for- 
ever, to be a deliverer of his people. Not much 
sand left in the man who ran for his life to the 
desert, was there? But there he had a long time to 
think it over ; and it was a very different Moses who, 
forty years later, was ready to let God tell him of 
new plans for Israel's release. It was a Moses who 
had very little confidence left in himself, — a good, 
healthy condition for any fellow to be in. For when 
we have finally lost all confidence in ourselves, then 
we are readier to begin to put our confidence where 
it belongs — in God. 

Were you ever squarely up against the impossible? 
Moses and the children of Israel were, that night 
when they were trying to march out of Egypt. Let 
me show you how they were trapped. (Sketch the 
map shown on the opposite page, on the blackboard 
or a tablet of paper.) 

They expected to take the usual way out of Egypt 
by the north, where the dotted line is, and then to 
pass through a gate in this great military wall that 
protected Egypt from enemies on the east and north. 
But when they had almost reached the gate, God 
told them to turn and go south, inside the wall, 
which they did. And finally, when they had come 
way down to the head of the Red Sea, they learned 
that Pharaoh and his army were after them ! Just 
see the trap : Egypt on the west, the Red Sea on 
the south, the great wall joining the Red Sea on 




The Red Sea Trap 



44 MEN WHO DARED 

the east, and the enemy on the north, bearing down 
on them ! 

Is it any wonder the people were scared? But 
here is where Moses rights his great up-hill fight,— 
and puts his trust where it belongs. They had gotten 
where they were by obeying God's orders; therefore 
they could depend upon God to get them out. What 
did Moses say to the frightened people (Gen. 14: 
14)? Was he right? What happened? (Get the 
boys to tell the story of the Red Sea crossing.) 

That was only one time when this plucky up-hill 
fighter dared the impossible, and won. You will 
read the whole story some day, I hope. Because 
Moses knew how to take orders from God, he knew 
how to give orders. He was the greatest lawmaker 
in history, for he had his laws right from God. 
Shall we say them all together (the Ten Com- 
mandments) ? 

Does God ever ask us to do the impossible to- 
day? Yes, he does. He often asks us to do what 
looks utterly impossible, and what no boy or man 
could do without God's help. That is the time he 
wants us to pull ourselves together, trust him, and 
do the thing. 

Now, who will tell us whether Moses was a hero, 

and why? 



VIII 

THE GENERAL WHO CAPTURED THE 
PROMISED LAND 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

How would you have liked to step into Moses' 
place, after he was dead, and take command of that 
crowd of Israelites? A pretty big job. But a 
younger man named Joshua had been in training 
for it. Notice Joshua's training before Moses died. 
Read Ex. 17: 8-13; 24: 12, 13; Deut. 31 : 7, 8. 

What shows Moses' confidence in Joshua as a 
fighter? What weapon did Joshua use? What 
shows that Moses did not want Joshua to be only a 
fighter? 

Second Day 

After Moses' death, Joshua received his commis- 
sion, as general of the armies of Israel, from God 
himself. Read Josh. 1 : 1-9. 

What did God now tell Joshua to do? What did 
God promise Joshua? 

Third Day 

Joshua loses no time in getting ready for the big 
undertaking of leading the people into the Promised 
Land. There is a deep river between. How can it 
be crossed? Read Josh. 1 : 10, 11 ; 3 : 7-17. 

What was the first thing that Joshua told the peo- 



46 MEN WHO DARED 

pie to do ? Who were to lead the Israelites into the 
Jordan? What miracle did God work for the people? 

Fourth Day 

It was one thing to get into the land of Canaan 
(the Promised Land) and another thing to capture 
it. They had to begin with one strong city, Jericho. 
Read Josh. 6: 1-5, 8-11, 15, 16, 20, 21. 

What showed that Jericho was afraid of the Israel- 
ites? Describe the way in which Joshua and his 
people captured the city. Why, do you think, did 
they destroy the city so completely? 

Fifth Day 

After Joshua had won another great victory, he 
gathered his people together— for what purpose? 
Read Josh. 8:30-35. 

In what mountain did Joshua build an altar? Find 
it on the map. What book did he read to them? 

Sixth Day 

Five kings decide to attack a city, Gibeon, and 
Joshua tries his hand against the five. To see what 
followed read Josh. 10 : 3-14. 

How did God help Joshua to begin the fight? 
Then what miracle did Joshua ask to have done? 

Seventh Day 

When it comes Joshua's time to die, he has a last 
message to give to his people. You will find it in 
Josh. 23:1-6, 10,11, 14; 24: 20-24. 

Who did Joshua say had fought for the people? 
What did Joshua urge the people to do? Tell the 
secret of Joshua's success as a soldier. 



JOSHUA 47 



Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Joshua: Exodus 17:8-14; 24:12,13; Deuteronomy 31: 
7, 8; Joshua 1 to 4, 6 to 8, 10, 23, 24 

Some people say that religion is a good thing for 
women and girls, — but not for men or boys. What 
do you think of that opinion? Is there truth in it? 
(Let the boys discuss this, for a few minutes.) 

Whatever one may think about the religion of to- 
day, what shall we say of religion in Old Testament 
times? Was it a women's and girls' affair then, — 
something for "mollycoddles" among men, — or an 
important part of the life of fighters and leaders? 
(There is but one answer to this, — let the boys prove 
it by illustrations from memory.) 

And now we have been getting acquainted with 
a man who had a hard thing to do — one of the hard- 
est places to fill that all history tells about. He had 
to take up the work of the greatest man in Israel's 
history before Christ; and not only that, but he had 
to do so at the time of one of the greatest crises in 
Israel's national life. 

As an encouragement to face this staggering situa- 
tion, God wanted Joshua to think about seven great 
facts, or 

Seven Secrets of Success 

Let us discover, if we can, what they were. 

Did the death of Moses, who had saved the Israel- 
ites out of Pharaoh's hand and led them safely for 
forty years through the wilderness, make it easier, 
or harder, to commence the attack on the strong- 



48 MEN WHO DARED 

holds of Canaan? Yet, "Moses is dead, therefore 
take Canaan." God's first word to Joshua was, not 
"because it is easy, do it," but "because it is hard, do 
it." The boy who goes for a thing because it is hard 
will succeed when the boy who picks the easy things 
is sure to fail. 

(The seven "secrets of success," to be drawn out 
from the class by the teacher in some such way as 
that of the preceding paragraph, are the following) : 

1. Because it is hard, do it! (Josh. 1 : 2.) 

2. I (Jehovah) am in charge ("which / do give 
to them" — ver. 2). 

3. You must win for yourself whatever you 
would have (ver. 3). 

4. A world-empire is my plan for you (ver. 4). 

5. Nobody can defeat you while you and I work 
together,— and / will never desert you (ver. 5). 

6. Be strong and courageous (ver. 6). 

7. Learn the law by heart, by living with it and 
in it, day and night; and keep the law, every bit. 

Just suppose you and I wrote down those seven 
secrets of success, and looked at them every morn- 
ing, lived by them every day; do you think we 
should succeed ? Let 's try it, anyway ; here they 
are if you want them (hand to each boy a previously 
prepared slip of paper containing the seven points). 

Did Joshua live by them? Well, let us prove it by 
his life. What was the first thing ahead of him? 
To get an army across a river, without boats or 
bridges, and while the river was swollen high above 
its banks (Josh. 3:15)! Pretty hard? Yes; that 
was a good reason for doing it. What is our first 
secret of success? 



JOSHUA 49 

"Nothing but Omnipotence can stand in the way 
of a determined man," said an old Yankee railroad 
president. And when you have the determined man 
hitched to Omnipotence, what chance then is there 
of a failure? No ordinary or extraordinary rivers, 
seas, or mountains lying across the path of such a 
one will be anything but invitations to him to push 
ahead without swerving. 

Joshua seems to have been that kind of man, who 
worked with Omnipotence. And he carried others 
along with the irresistible swing of his enthusiastic 
confidence that nothing could stop him — in that part- 
nership. Such men always do carry others with 
them. Yet Joshua had as overwhelming, discour- 
aging difficulties to face as any man that ever drew 
breath: Moses' death at the critical time; a strange 
land to enter; trained and bloodthirsty tribes of 
fighting men to contest every inch of the ground; 
the enemy having every advantage, being garri- 
soned in their own territory; and a swollen river 
dead ahead, lying between Israel and the enemy. 

But God had promised to drive out their enemies 
from before them ; and as a pledge of this, he would 
get them safely across this turbulent Jordan if they 
would push straight ahead into the water first. And 
that is just what God promises us to-day. He will 
see us through every difficulty that blocks the way 
into which He calls us, if we drive straight into 
those difficulties without waiting for their removal. 

Did you ever hear of the self-opening gate that is 
said to be used sometimes on country roads? It 
stands fast and firm across the road as the traveler 
approaches it. If he stops before he gets to it, it 



50 MEN WHO DARED 

will not open. But if he will drive right at it, his 
wagon-wheels press the springs below the roadway, 
and the gate swings back to let him through. He 
must push right on, however, at the closed gate, or 
it will stay closed. See the point? 

Because Joshua took God at his word, and the 
priests and people took Joshua at his word, "it came 
to pass" just as God had promised, and the barrier 
utterly failed to block the way of the people who 
followed God's leading. Here is a motto to re- 
member : "When we are sure of God's leading, noth- 
ing can defeat us." 

What was the next thing to do, after getting 
across the Jordan? Harder still: capture a walled 
city ! But you know how it was done, — tell me how. 

Do you notice that in crossing the Jordan, and in 
capturing Jericho, and later in fighting the five kings, 
God did not do it all, — he only helped? Joshua and 
the people had plenty to do. That is always the way. 
We must do our best for God, if we want God to 
do his best for us. 

What was the seventh "secret of success"? Did 
Joshua do it? Did he help the people to do it? 
How? (Josh. 8: 34, 35.) And what did he tell them 
just before he died? (Get different boys to read 
aloud the following verses : Josh. 23:6; 24: 24.) 

What is a hero? Who is in any doubt whether 
Joshua was a hero? What were some of the hard- 
and- worth-while things that he did? 



IX 



THE CONQUEROR WHO WOULD NOT 
BE KING 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

Do you think the Israelites always followed 
Joshua's advice, and did right in the sight of God? 
Read of the trouble they got into, in Judges 6 : 1-10. 

What was the name of the enemy that con- 
quered Israel? How long was Israel in Midian's 
power? In what places did the Israelites live, for 
fear of the Midianites? 

Second Day 

God picks out a young Israelite to deliver his peo- 
ple from Midian. Read Judges 6: 11-16. 

What was the name of the young man who was 
to whip Midian? What was he doing when God 
came to him? What encouragement did God give 
him? 

Third Day 

The first thing God tells Gideon to do is harder 
than fighting the enemy, for it means making ene- 
mies of his own family and friends. Read Judges 
6:25-32. 

Why did God want the altar of Baal thrown 
down? Why did Gideon do it by night? What did 
the men of the city say about this? What sensible 
answer did Gideon's father, Joash, make? 



52 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

Gideon (whose other name was Jerubbaal because 
he had destroyed Baal's altar) gets together thou- 
sands of men to fight Midian ; and then Gideon gets 
a surprise. Read Judges 7 : 1-8. 

How did Gideon first separate the brave Israelites 
from the cowards? How many cowards were there? 
Of the ten thousand left, how did he finally pick 
three hundred? Why do you think he chose those 
who lapped the water with their hands? 

Fifth Day 

Before the fight commences, a man has a strange 
dream; and Gideon tells his men of a new way of 
fighting. Read Judges 7 : 12-18. 

What was the dream? What did Gideon give the 
three hundred? What were they to do when the 
trumpet blew? 

Sixth Day 

Now the fight is on. Read Judges 7 : 19-25. 

Why did Gideon choose the time when new senti- 
nels had just been stationed, to make his attack? 
How do you explain the panic of the Midianites? 
What did Gideon do to make the victory complete? 

Seventh Day 

What do you think Israel wanted to do with 
Gideon after his great victory over their enemy? 
Read Judges 8 : 22, 23, 28. 

What did Israel offer Gideon? What was his an- 
swer? Do you think he was right, or wrong? Why? 



GIDEON 53 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Gideon: Judges 6 to 8 

What is the best thing that can happen to a fellow 
when he is doing wrong? To get punished. And 
why? Because it may stop his wrongdoing; for the 
longer he keeps up his wrongdoing, the worse off he 
is sure to be for it in the end. 

So was it a good thing, or not, that the Midianites 
were giving the children of Israel a hard time for 
seven years ? Why did God deliver Israel over to 
Midian (Judges 6:1)? Just for a little healthy pun- 
ishment, wasn't it, — the kind you and I need some- 
times ? But when God finally thought that Israel had 
had enough reminders for that time, whom did he 
pick out to be their deliverer? (Gideon.) 

Now, what had been Israel's special sin ? Idolatry, 
— worshiping idols of false gods. And what was the 
very first thing that God told Gideon to do? To hit 
that idolatry right between the eyes, so to speak, by 
tearing down an altar of Baal, the false god. Was 
this easy, or a dangerous thing to do? Some one 
tell us what happened the morning after Gideon's 
altar-smashing night. And how did Gideon get out 
of the difficulty? 

Gideon was showing that he could be depended 
upon for a hard job, — even a job that might cost him 
his life ; and the fellow who is perfectly ready to risk 
his life to do the thing that needs doing is the only 
kind of fellow that God can really use. So prepara- 
tions are made for the big fight with Midian : we '11 
have the story from you boys. 



54 MEN WHO DARED 

Why did not God want too many Israelites to go 
into the fight (7:2)? How did Gideon sift out the 
cowards first? How many were left to fight? But 
there were too many still, and how were they sifted 
down — to what small number? Will some one tell 
why the men who lapped the water from one hand 
were more dependable than those who got down on 
both knees and put their faces right into the water? 
Well, the first kind could watch and be on their 
guard against a surprise by the enemy, better than 
the others, could they not? What strange weapons 
did Gideon give his three hundred, and what orders? 
How were the Midianites frightened and put to 
flight? 

The plan was a reasonable one. Three hundred 
men crept up close to the enemy, in pitch darkness, 
concealing their torches inside the clay pitchers ; then 
suddenly, at a signal, they broke the pitchers and 
made a burst of flame with the torches, while they 
blew a terrific blast on the trumpets, following this 
with the strange war-cry, naming a new God, "The 
sword of Jehovah and of Gideon." Is it any wonder 
Midian's camp went to pieces? 

Gideon had done two pretty hard things now, but 
the hardest and biggest victory of his life was yet 
to come. What was it? Yes; it was when he de- 
clined to be king. Think of it, fellows ! Would you 
like to be put to that test? What if you had the 
chance to be mayor, or governor, or president? It 
would go pretty hard to refuse, wouldn't it? 

Why did Gideon refuse? What was his answer 
(8:23)? Perhaps he believed that if God had 
wanted him to be king, God would have told him 



GIDEON 55 

so, for God had told him what to do in other things. 
Perhaps he saw that God did not want Israel to have 
a king; she had never had one yet, and later, when 
she did have one, it only got her into trouble. 
Jehovah was the best king for Israel, Gideon said, 
and he said it to the folks who were clamoring: 
"Gideon, we want you for king." It was one of the 
finest bits of self-mastery in the whole Bible. It 
was harder than taking Jericho, for (call for Prov. 
16 : 32 from a boy to whom you have assigned it in 
advance). 

Now let us see how many times over Gideon was 
a hero ! 



THE GIANT-KILLER WHO SPARED 
HIS ENEMY 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

A man named Saul was the first king of Israel; 
he has displeased God, by disobeying, and now God 
picks out a young Hebrew boy to be Israel's future 
king. Read 1 Sam. 16: 1-13. 

What was the name of the man whose son was to 
be the future king? What was the name of the boy 
finally chosen? How many older brothers had he? 

Second Day 

Saul is still king, though David has been chosen 
by God to be Saul's successor. A great war is going 
on between Israel and the Philistines, and a Philis- 
tine giant-bully taunts them. Read 1 Sam. 17 : 1-30. 

How did David happen to hear of Goliath's chal- 
lenge? What did David's brother scold him for? 

Third Day 

But David's words reach the ears of King Saul 
himself; and David actually has a chance to fight 
the giant. Read 1 Sam. 17 : 31-52. 

Why was David so confident that Goliath would 
be whipped? What were David's weapons? Write 
out David's answer to Goliath (ver. 45). 



58 MEX WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

The people think a good deal of David after this, 
and Saul gets so jealous that he is dangerous to live 
with. Read 1 Sam. 18:6-16. 

What song was sung about Saul and David ? What 
did Saul try to do to David? 

Fifth Day 

David has had to fly for his life, but Saul tries to 
kill him, — until a great surprise makes Saul change 
his mind. Read 1 Sam. 26 : 1-25. 

What trap did Saul fall into? Why did David re- 
fuse to kill Saul? How did David let Saul know 
what he had done? What honest confession did 
Saul make? 

Sixth Day 

The great day comes in David's life; Saul has 

.. and the people have not forgotten what David 

:. Read 1 Chron. 11 : 1-9. 

What two reasons :id the people give for making 

David king? What people tried to keep David out 

.: Jerusalem? Why was Joab made chief? Why 

did David grow greater and greater? 

Seventh Day 

David plans a great temple of Jehovah at Jerusa- 
lem, and le ton to build after him. 
Read 1 Chron. 22 : 6-16. 

Wh s the name of David's son and succe: 

on the throne? Why did God not wish David to 
:emple himse'.f- Find out, if you can, 
what the name '"Solomon" me: 



DAVID 59 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

David: 1 Samuel 16 to 18, 26; 1 Chronicles 11: 1-9; 22: 1-19 

Is it ever right to make another fellow feel so 
mean that he just wants to crawl into a hole and 
draw the hole in after him? You think not? I'm 
not so sure about that. But wait a minute ; let me 
ask you another question. 

Suppose you were booked to be king; everybody 
liked you and wanted you for king, you had met and 
whipped the enemies oi your nation, you were grow- 
ing more popular every day — and then suddenly you 
found that one man, who you had thought was your 
friend, was against you, trying to get you out of the 
way, saying mean things behind your back, and 
actually trying to kill you ! How would you feel 
toward him? And then suppose that one day, sud- 
denly, you found this man in your power, so that 
you could do to him anything you wanted to : what 
then? You wouldn't take much for his chancer ': 

Did you ever hear of a candidate for king having 
caught his enemy that way? Of course you have; 
we've been reading about him all the week. Who 
he? What was his enemy's name? Perhaps 
one of you can tell the story .: what happened that 
night in the wilderness of Ziph, where Saul had gone 
to hunt David. I don't know how the rest of you 
feel about it, but / don't believe David evci i id any- 
thing much harder in all his life than when he spared 
the life of the man who was ^::er his life, when he 
had him in his power. It wasn't the or 



60 MEN WHO DARED 

either; another such adventure is described in 1 Sam. 
24: 1-22. I shouldn't be surprised if it was harder 
for David to do what he did in this than it was to 
face Goliath. Anyway, it was a giant's battle, — a 
fellow's fight with himself always is, — and David 
won; he whipped all kinds of giants. How do you 
think Saul felt when David treated him this way? 
Pretty mean? Yes. Was it right for David to spare 
his life? Oh, then it is all right to make another 
fellow feel mean, is it? But only when we do so by 
refusing to do a mean thing ourselves. 

Now let's go back a little over this remarkable 
young fellow's life. Anybody remember what David 
was doing when Samuel came to Jesse's house to 
hunt for a new king? Was David sitting around 
doing nothing but waiting for a chance to be king? 
No, he was off tending sheep. Did you ever notice 
that the fellows who are picked for the best jobs are 
the ones who are hard at work making good in the 
jobs that they have? And that the fellows who can 
tell all about what they would do if they only had a 
chance don't seem to get the chance ? I wonder why ! 

Does anybody know the story of Goliath? I 
thought so. Well, I'll give you all a chance. We 
shall take turns telling it, beginning at the very be- 
ginning, and each boy going on till I say to stop, 
when the next one will go on with it. But I will 
keep my Bible open, and I'll stop you if a single im- 
portant point is left out. 

Is it ever right to fight? What answer does the 
Goliath story give us? Shan't we say, "Yes, if we 
can safely ask God's help in the fight, and look to him 
for the victory"? And if we're tempted to get into 



DAVID 61 

a fight that we couldn't very well pray about, hadn't 
we better keep out of it? 

Saul nowhere showed his weakness and unfitness to 
be king more plainly than in his jealousy of David. 
It didn't hurt David a bit, but it hurt Saul awfully. 
Jealousy never hurts anybody but the fellow who is 
jealous. 

It was a long, hard training that David had before 
God would let him be king; but that's what made 
him a king that amounted to something. Training 
always counts. David was not a perfect man; he 
committed some great sins, as you will see when you 
read his entire life some day; but one thing he 
never flinched in or swerved from : his single-hearted 
loyalty to God. And that was in a day when most 
people were idolaters. He was loyal to his earthly 
king, Saul, and to his heavenly king, God. That kind 
of loyalty took grit and courage and self-control. 
But it helped to make him a hero. Let us name 
everything in David's life that showed the hero- 
stuff. 

Other Teaching Points 

David probably had his old working-clothes on the 
day that he was anointed to be king. But God does 
not decide everything by clothes (1 Sam. 16: 7). 

It was the doing of a very ordinary duty that gave 
David the chance to meet Goliath (1 Sam. 17: 17). 

God wanted David to be himself, not somebody 
else, in the fight (1 Sam. 17: 39,40). 



XI 

A PRINCE WHO WAS HIS RIVAL'S FRIEND 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

King Saul had a son who was not afraid of the 
Philistines, and who once attacked them in a tre- 
mendously daring way. Read 1 Sam. 14 : 1, 4, 6-17, 
20-23. 

Why did Jonathan believe he might whip the 
Philistines (ver. 6) ? What was the sign Jonathan 
decided to follow? Who finally turned against the 
Philistines in this battle? 

Second Day 

Jonathan was the son of the king, and he had 
proved himself to be a fighter of great courage. He 
would fairly expect to be the next king, would he 
not? But after David had killed Goliath, and every- 
body was talking about David's greatness, how do 
you think Jonathan felt toward David? Read 
1 Sam. 18:1-4; 19: 1-7. 

How did Jonathan show his love for David? Why 
did Saul want to kill David? What do you think of 
Jonathan for what he did at this time? 

Third Day 

Saul does not stop trying to kill David, however, 
and David flees for his life, while Jonathan keeps 
a sharp lookout. Read 1 Sam. 20 : 1, 2, 18-22, 35-42. 



64 MEN WHO DARED 

What sign did Jonathan and David agree to use? 
What did it mean when Jonathan said to the lad, 
"Is not the arrow beyond thee?" 

Fourth Day 

Jonathan realizes that David is to be the next 
king. Does this make any difference in his friend- 
ship? Read 1 Sam. 23: 15-18. 

What comforting promises did Jonathan give 
David? 

Fifth Day 

Because of Saul's wickedness, God lets the Philis- 
tines defeat him in battle; and his sons suffer with 
him. Read 1 Sam. 31 : 1-6. 

Why was Jonathan's death an honorable one, and 
Saul's dishonorable? 

Sixth Day 

Can you imagine David's bitter grief at the death 
of his best and dearest friend? He is loyal to his 
dead king Saul at the same time, even though Saul 
has been his enemy. Read 2 Sam. 1 : 17-19, 22-27. 

What did David say about Jonathan's courage? 
What did he say about Jonathan's love? 

Seventh Day 

David could never forget Jonathan's love as long 
as he lived, and he had a chance to repay it many 
years after Jonathan's death. Read 2 Sam. 4:4; 
9:1-7. 

What was the name of Jonathan's son? How was 
he made lame? What did David do for him? 



JONATHAN 65 



Teaching the Lesson in Class 



Jonathan: 1 Samuel 13, 14; 18:1-5; 19:1-7; 20, 23:15-18 
31: 1-6; 2 Samuel 1, 4:4; 9 



Has any fellow here ever had a friend? Tell us 
about it. Has any fellow here ever been a friend? 
Tell us about that. What is a "friend," anyway? 
(In this opening discussion, lead the boys to realize 
that a friend is one who puts the other fellow always 
in his own place. Our chief and only question in 
making friends with another person ought to be, 
What can we do for him? never, What can he do 
for us?) 

Did any of you ever hear of a Bible character 
who was a great friend ? I thought so : Jonathan. 
You've been living with him for a week ; now I want 
you to tell me this : What was there for Jonathan, 
in being such a friend of David's? What did 
Jonathan get out of it? Why should he have done 
it? Before you try to answer, let us go over the 
story. 

To begin with, was Jonathan a weak, cowardly 
sort of a chap, who thought it would be a good 
thing to have the friendship of such a strong, brave, 
successful fighter as David? How about that day 
when Jonathan called his armor-bearer and sug- 
gested their going down the rocky gulley and up on 
the other side and whipping the Philistines? Was 
he just a windbag when he said this, or did he mean 
it? What made him think he could win (1 Sam. 
14:6)? (Draw out the story of the incident from 



66 MEN WHO DARED 

the boys.) So Jonathan was a fighter himself, and 
a good one? Then he didn't need David's protec- 
tion, did he? 

Was Jonathan a "nobody," who had no prospects, 
and who thought it would be a good thing to be- 
come intimate with a popular hero like David? Well, 
not exactly; he happened to be the son of the king 
himself. What was that king's name? Who is 
usually the next king, after a king dies? Whom did 
Saul want to have king after him? Yes, Jonathan, 
his own son. So Jonathan needed no help from 
David, did he? That was not the reason for his 
friendship. 

Was Jonathan unpopular with his own father, the 
king, and did he think he could stand in with him by 
making friends with his father's favorite, David? 
Not exactly; for Saul not only wanted Jonathan to 
be king, but David soon lost his favor with Saul. 
Moreover, the only recorded time that Jonathan made 
the king angry was when he was befriending David 
(1 Sam. 20:30,31). 

But how did Jonathan feel toward David, and how 
did he act toward him? Some one read 1 Sam. 
18: 1. Did Jonathan, do you think, try to get on the 
right side of David so that, later, he could catch him 
off his guard and do away with him — kill him, 
perhaps, and so have the throne to himself? You 
say Jonathan did just the opposite — saved David's 
life from Saul? A strange thing to do, wasn't it? 
(Draw out the arrow-shooting incident.) 

We haven't answered our question yet, but we've 
seen what are not the answers. Jonathan did not 
seek David for a friend because he (Jonathan) was 



JONATHAN 67 

a coward; nor because he was a nobody, and needed 
influence with the king; nor because he was in dis- 
favor with the king; nor because he wanted to get 
David's confidence and then betray him. Jonathan 
knew all the time that the throne could not go to 
both David and himself, and that it was going to 
David if David lived. Did he want David to be 
king? Read 1 Sam. 23: 17. But if David was out 
of the way Jonathan would be king. What was there 
in this friendship for Jonathan? What had he to 
gain by it? 

Frankly, nothing. Jonathan had nothing to gain, 
and everything to lose, by his friendship for David. 
How did it all end? Jonathan lost his life in battle, 
by loyalty to his father; David became king. 

But wait a minute : Did Jonathan lose everything 
by his friendship for David? Did he lose in reputa- 
tion? Whom do you think more of to-day, Saul, or 
Jonathan ? The name Jonathan to-day stands for the 
greatest friend in history, except Jesus Christ. Did 
Jonathan lose in character? Did he lose in oppor- 
tunity to do big things for someone else? Did he 
lose in self-control, in ruling his spirit — remember 
Prov. 16: 32? Did he lose in love? Read John 15: 
13. There are different ways of laying down life — 
you don't always have to die to do it. Jonathan laid 
down his life for David long before he died. 

So Jonathan did not lose everything, after all. But 
he was ready to. That is how he was a friend. No 
one can be a friend unless he is ready to lose every- 
thing he has for the one to whom he would be a 
friend. If Jonathan had tried to gain, or get, any- 
thing from his friendship, it wouldn't have been 



68 MEN WHO DARED 

friendship at all — only an ugly fake-friendship, a 
counterfeit. Friendship never tries to gain, it only 
tries to give. When a fellow is ready to lose every- 
thing for friendship, the Lord sees to it that he gets 
everything that is worth while. It is hard, of course ; 
that is why it takes a hero to be a friend. 



XII 

THE KING WHO MADE A HARD CHOICE 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

The time has come for David's son Solomon to be 
made king. The great scene is described in 1 Kings 
1:32-40; 2:1,2. 

What did David say should be done to show that 
Solomon was now king? What did the people 
shout? Write out David's advice to Solomon. 

Second Day 

Did you ever wish that you might have just one 
chance to choose anything in the whole world that 
you wanted? That chance came to Solomon. What 
do you think he chose? Read 1 Kings 3: 4-14. 

What did Solomon choose? What did God prom- 
ise to give him that he did not choose? 

Third Day 

God's promise of riches to Solomon, as well as 
wisdom, seems to have been fulfilled. Read 1 Kings 
4:20-29. 

Find on the map the boundaries of Solomon's 
kingdom. Mention some of Solomon's provisions 
for a single day. How many stalls of horses had he? 
What had he that was better than these riches? 



70 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

Solomon does not forget his father's command to 
build a temple for Jehovah, and he calls in the best 
helper he can get, another king. Read 1 Kings 5 : 
1-6,8, 9, 17; 6:7, 21,22, 38. 

What king did Solomon ask to help him? Find 
Tyre on the map. How did Solomon arrange to 
have no stone cutting done in the temple ? How long 
was the temple in building? 

Fifth Day 

After the great temple is finished, Solomon calls 
the people together, and prays. Read 1 Kings 8: 
1-3, 12, 13, 44, 45; 2 Chron. 7: 1-3. 

What did Solomon bring to the temple? What 
did he pray might bring success in battle? What 
answer did God make? 

Sixth Day 

A great queen had heard so much about Solomon 
that she thought she would visit him, and see for 
herself. Read 1 Kings 10: 1-10, 13. 

How did the queen test Solomon? How did he 
surprise her? Mention some things she gave him. 

Seventh Day 

Even a king as wise as Solomon could go wrong. 
Read 1 Kings 11 : 4-13. 

Who tempted Solomon to be untrue to God? 
What punishment did God promise? 



SOLOMON 71 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Solomon: 1 Kings 1 to 11; 2 Chronicles 7: 1-3 

There is a story told of how each of the wise men 
of ancient Greece was trying to prove that he was 
the wisest of them all. They all told how many and 
how great things they knew. Finally one said 
quietly : "I am the wisest man in Greece ; for the others 
all think that they know a great deal, while I am the 
only one who knows that he knows nothing." And 
that was so. Solon, who said this, probably did know 
more than the others in most things, but the biggest 
thing he knew was that all his knowledge was noth- 
ing as compared to what he might know. Did you 
ever notice that the more a man really knows, the 
less he talks about it? And the less he knows, the 
more he talks about it? 

Does Solon remind you of Solomon at all? How? 
What did Solomon say when God asked him to 
choose whatever he would like (1 Kings 3: second 
half of 7th verse) ? Did he mean he was really a lit- 
tle child? Or did he say it as Solon said it? Solomon 
probably had the finest education a boy of that day 
could have, and he was twenty years old, or more, 
at this time. And he had had the training of a 
father who was a very wise king. But what did he 
ask for? What would you have asked for? What 
would you ask for to-day if God said to you, "Ask 
what I shall give thee"? Do you think God would 
make that offer to a fellow that he was not pretty 
sure of? But wait: doesn't God make that offer to 
us all? 



72 MEN WHO DARED 

What did God think of Solomon's choice? How 
much wisdom did God promise him? And what 
three other things did God promise to give Solo- 
mon, two anyway, and the third on condition that 
Solomon would do God's will? 

Now I want to tell you just one story of Solomon's 
wisdom, and see if you don't think God kept his 
word with him. (Tell the incident of the two 
mothers, 1 Kings 3 : 16-28, omitting details unneces- 
sary to an understanding of the story itself.) 

What of God's other promises? Was Solomon 
rich? Prove it (get the class to name his pos- 
sessions, 1 Kings 4:20-29). 

Did he receive honor? Who can describe the 
Queen of Sheba's visit (1 Kings 10: 1-10, 13)? 

How did Solomon honor God? (Call out the facts 
of the building of the temple.) 

Did Solomon's wisdom, and riches, and honor, keep 
him from ever going wrong? What was the cause 
of his wrongdoing (1 Kings 11:4-13)? So all the 
wisdom in the world is not enough unless we add to 
it the will to do God's will. 

But we must not forget Solomon's splendid choice, 
when it must have been so hard to choose that way. 
Was he a hero? Why? 



XIII 

THE PROPHET WHO SHAMED A GOD 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

Long after Solomon was dead a king ruled Israel 
who made a great (?) record for himself. Read 
1 Kings 16:29-33. 

What was the name of the king? In what way 
did he do more than all the kings that were before 
him? What false god did he worship? 

Second Day 

But now a certain man who worshiped God dared 
to face King Ahab and tell him of a hard time com- 
ing. Read 1 Kings 17: 1-7. 

What was the name of the man who prophesied 
rain? How did God take care of Elijah? 

Third Day 

Now that the brook had dried up, what was Elijah 
to do? Read 1 Kings 17: 8-16. 

Why was the woman afraid she would die after 
eating what she had? How did God reward her for 
giving Elijah food? 

Fourth Day 

After the famine has lasted about three years, 
Ahab and Elijah meet face to face again. And 



74 MEN WHO DARED 

Elijah makes a challenge for a contest between God 
and Baal. Read 1 Kings 18 : 16-24. 

How many prophets of Baal were there? What 
did Elijah ask the people to decide (ver. 21) ? What 
test did Elijah propose? 

Fifth Day 

Everything is made ready, and Baal has his chance 
to set fire to the wood. Read 1 Kings 18 : 25-29. 

What did the Baal-priests cry out? How did 
Elijah mock them? What was Baal's answer? 

Sixth Day 

Now it is Elijah's turn, — and God's. Read 
1 Kings 18:30-40. 

How did Elijah make the test for God harder than 
it had been for Baal? What answer came to 
Elijah's prayer? What did the people say? 

Seventh Day 

A young man named Elisha has been chosen to 
take Elijah's place, and now God takes Elijah in a 
very strange way. Read 2 Kings 2 : 7-12. 

What was Elijah's last miracle? What last gift 
did Elisha ask of Elijah? How did Elijah go to 
heaven ? 



ELIJAH 75 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Elijah: 1 Kings 16: 29 to 18: 46; 19: 15-21; 2 Kings 2: 1-12 

For eight hundred years God tried to teach the 
men of Israel a lesson that they would not learn. 
He began teaching it when they first came out of 
Egypt, at Mount Sinai ; they began fighting him on it 
at the same place, by setting up a golden calf and 
worshiping it while Moses was up in the Mount 
worshiping God. He kept on trying to teach them 
the lesson, and they kept on refusing to learn it, 
until one day, eight hundred years after the golden 
calf affair, they found themselves attacked, over- 
come, conquered, and carried away captives by an 
enemy into a far land. Then they learned the les- 
son, and they have never unlearned it since. Who 
has guessed what lesson I mean? 

Idolatry, that is it. Worshiping false gods, other 
gods than the only God, Jehovah, our heavenly 
Father. Let us repeat together the words of the les- 
son that God tried to teach at Mount Sinai (first and 
second commandments, Ex. 20 : 3, 4) . 

I want you to remember the name of one king of 
Israel who was never an idolater. He had killed a 
giant when he was a boy. Who was he? Yes; and 
when the Bible says that David had a perfect heart, 
it does not mean that he was sinless, but that his 
service of God was complete, not divided. That is 
what "perfect" means. What about David's great 
son, — his name? Was Solomon perfect in his loy- 
alty to God (1 Kings 11:4-8)? 



76 MEN WHO DARED 

It is half a century now since Solomon was king, 
and Ahab is on the throne. Was his heart "perfect 
with Jehovah," or not? What thing did he do more 
than all the kings of Israel before him? 

With an idol-worshiping king on the throne, what 
could you expect of the people? It was a hard thing 
that God had to do. — to swing the people away from 
their king's false gods and back to himself. How 
could he do it? Well, for one thing, he proposed to 
do it through one man. God always works through 
men. and through boys. He wants to work through 
you. Are you going to let him? 

What was the rirst challenge that the one man 
Elijah — God's man — threw down before the idola- 
trous king Ahab? (1 Kings 17: l.) It took a bold 
man to say even that to a king, did it not? What 
was back of Elijah's boldness. — was it a bluff? Tell 
me the story of what happened to Elijah during the 
three famine years. 

Who remembers the second encounter of these two 
men. almost three years later, and Ahab's rirst angry 
word to Elijah? (18:17.) Did Elijah's boldness 
hold out? He gave it to the king right between the 
eyes this time, — and remember, it wasn't any easier 
to do that then, or any less dangerous, than it would 
be to-day. What did Elijah say? (18: IS.) 

Elijah backed up his word with a challenge, which 
the king just had to accept unless he was going to 
desert Baal. We'll have the whole Mount Carmel 
story, now, told by one boy after another as I call 
on you : and the rest of you look sharp to see that 
no mistakes are made, and nothing is left out. 

Well. boys, what do you think of it all? Did it 



ELIJAH 77 

.rage and nerve to do what Elijah did? Did 
it take more — a ir. ent faith ? I want you to 

remember that prayer of his, — it is one of the great 
prayers of the Bible. I am going to read it to you, 
and then I want you to read it with me, slowly, 
thinking what every word means (18:36,37). If 
we always prayed that way, our prayers might be 
answered oftener. God honors the prayer of a man 
who wants only strength to do God's will so that all 
may honor God. 

Were the people fools to put any gods ahead of 
Jehovah, or even alongside of Jehovah? Did 
ever know of a fellow who did any private — or public 
— idol-worshiping ? 

Elijah had to die, but not God, nor God's work. 
That must go right on. So God picked out a tested 
young man to carry on the work, just as God is 
doing to-day to nil his best positions. He needs men 
who are willing and able to shame the false gods. 
Such a man must always measure up to our hero- 
standard. 



XIV 

THE MAN WHO USED HIS POWER 
FOR OTHERS 



Home Work for the Pupils 



First Day 



Elisha has lost his chief now, but he must carry 
on his chief's work. He has his first experiences as 
a prophet. Read 2 Kings 2 : 13, 14, 19-22. 

What did Elisha do with Elijah's mantle? What 
was Elisha's second miracle? 

Second Day 

God sees to it that people shall understand that 
Elisha is God's own representative, — and some boys 
never get another chance. Read 2 Kings 2 : 23-25. 

What did the lads say to Elijah? What happened 
to them? Why do you think the punishment was so 
severe? 

Third Day 

Elisha is glad to use the power that God has given 
him to help the needy. Read 2 Kings 4: 1-7. 

What was the poor woman afraid of? What was 
iier only possession? What miracle did Elisha work 
for her? 

Fourth Day 
A rich woman was kind to Elisha, and one day 



80 MEN WHO DARED 

she is glad that she was. Read 2 Kings 4:8-10, 
18-21, 32-37. 

What great sorrow came to this woman? What 
did Elisha do for her? 

Fifth Day 

A great general finds that Elisha is the only man 
who can help him. Read 2 Kings 5 : 1, 9-14. 

What was NaamarA What remedy did 

r,a prescribe? Why v. <man angry? How 

was Naaman cured ? 

Sixth Day 

Elisha wins a great victory for his king without 
shedding a drop of blood. Read 2 Kings 6: 8, 15-23. 

Why was Elisha not afraid? How did he have the 
enemy at his mercy? What did he have the king of 
hrael do to the enemy? What was the result of this 
battle? 

Seventh Day 

Even after his death, God honors Elisha in a won- 
derful way. Read 2 Kings 13 : 20, 21. 

Where was the dead man buried? What hap- 
pened when his body touched the bones of Elisha? 



ELISHA 81 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Elisha: 2 Kings 2 to 6; 13: 20, 21 

Every one of you in this class, if he lives, must 
some day take up the work of some one who has 
gone before him. Did you ever think of that? Are 
you going to make a success of it — a bigger success 
than the one who went before, — or are you going to 
fail? You may not believe it, but you have been 
answering that question this last week. Tell me 
how. 

Be sure of one thing: whatever you do in the 
world, it won't be a happen-so. Yet do you know 
how some people would explain the way in which 
Elisha got Elijah's position? Why, they'd say that 
the young fellow who happened to be chosen for the 
place, and who happened to be with the great man at 
the moment of his wonderful death, happened to 
receive a special favor from that man, and hap- 
pened to see the vision, and find the mantle, and so 
was lucky enough to receive the parting gift of the 
spirit of the man who was gone. That is the way 
some fellows would tell the story. They are the 
kind who complain of their hard luck when some 
one else happens to come in for a good thing. They 
don't realize that there is no such thing as "happen," 
and that their worst hard luck is in themselves ! 

Elisha was not the kind of man that "happens." 
He stuck close to his chief, ready for everything; 
therefore God could use him. He believed that what 
God was ready to do for one man, he was ready to 



82 MEN WHO DARED 

do for another if it was needed, — and that is a safe 
belief to live by. He believed that God was as much 
interested in his — Elisha's — success as Elisha was 
himself. Did you ever think of that for yourseli? 
That God is even more interested in your being a 
big success than you are yourself? For it's so. That 
makes it pretty important to let God have his way 
with you, does it not? 

Did God seem to care whether the people should 
know that Elisha was his own special representative, 
or not? What swift punishment followed the time 
when some youngsters made fun of Elisha? 
(2 Kings 2:23-25.) Was the punishment too se- 
vere? Why was it necessary? 

How many of the miracles that Elisha worked can 
you remember? Suppose we name all that we have 
read about during the week. And now I am going 
to tell you an old Chinese legend, and see if you 
can guess which of Elisha's miracles it illustrates. 
The story goes that a great Chinese potter named 
Poussa had tried and failed, tried and failed, over 
and over again, to make a porcelain set fine enough 
for the Emperor's table. Finally, in despair, he 
flung himself into the furnace where he was glazing 
his masterpieces. And that was just what was 
needed, for china with such matchless beauty was 
never made before or since. That story is not true, 
but it teaches a truth : it pays to throw yourself 
hard, with all you've got, into your work. Elisha did 
it. In which miracle did he literally give himself to 
work the cure? (2 Kings 4: 34.) 

Elisha knew how to test men, too. Did you ever 
know it is often harder to do a little thing than a 



ELISHA 83 

big thing? Yet God wants men who are willing to 
do little things when he says so, — he cannot give 
them big things to do unless they will do the others 
first. In which miracle did Elisha ask a great man 
to do such a little thing that the man almost lost the 
blessing by refusing? Remember this: the fellow 
who is too big for a little job that ought to be done, 
is not big enough for a big job. 

As you look back over these miracles of Elisha, 
what should you say he was after, in them all ; what 
was his purpose? Was he after glory and a great 
name? Was he after position? Did he want to get 
rich? None of those things. No; he was just out to 
"help the other fellow," and he seemed to think that 
he had a perfect right to ask God's help in doing 
this, even if it took a miracle now and then. We 
don't need miracles to-day to understand God; but 
we do need more men and boys like Elisha, who will 
live for the same purpose that he lived for. God is 
ready to help them as in Elisha' s day. It isn't easy 
to live for the other fellow, is it? Why does it take 
a hero to do it? 



XV 

A CAPTIVE WHO REFUSED TO 
BE SCARED 

Home Work for the Pupils 
First Day 

Because the Hebrews would not obey God, he 
lets a foreign king conquer them. Read Dan. 1 : 
1-6, 8-12, 14, 15, 19, 20. 

What resolve did Daniel make? Why was the 
prince afraid to let him try it? What was the re- 
sult when Daniel and his three friends did try it? 

Second Day 

Do you remember an old Egyptian king who had 
dreams? Daniel's king has dreams, too, and they 
almost make serious trouble. Read Daniel 2: 1-5, 
17-19. 

What made it especially hard to interpret the 
king's dream? What was to be the penalty for fail- 
ure? How did Daniel learn the dream and its 
meaning ? 

Third Day 

Daniel is to be given his chance, before the king, 
to save his own life and that of all the wise men. 
Read Dan. 2 : 25-28, 46-49. (If you want to read the 
dream and its meaning, it is in verses 31-45.) 

To whom did Daniel give the credit for revealing 
the dream? What did the king do for Daniel? 



86 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

And now the king makes a command that goes 
hard with Daniel's three friends. What would you 
have done? Read Dan. 3:1, 4-6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16-18. 

What did the king command about the golden 
image? Why would not the three young Hebrews 
worship it? What answer did they make to the 
king? 

Fifth Day 

The king takes the young fellows at their word, 
and sees what stuff they are made of. Read Dan. 3 : 
19-30. 

What shows how hot the furnace was? What did 
the king see in the flames? What new decree did 
the king now make? 

Sixth Day 

Daniel finally becomes so popular, under a later 
king, that some envious men set a trap for him — 
and it works ! Read Dan. 6 : 1-10, 13-15. 

What decree did Darius make? What did Daniel 
do about it? Why was the king distressed? 

Seventh Day 

There is nothing for the king to do, he thinks, but 
to keep his word, — but he hopes against hope. Read 
Dan. 6:16-28. 

What question did the king cry out in the early 
morning? Why was Daniel saved? What new de- 
cree did Darius now make? 



DANIEL 87 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Daniel: Daniel 1 to 6 

Do you know what an "Irish bull" is? I am going 
to give you one, in this question : Is it safe to do our 
duty when it is dangerous? But that question is not 
a joke; it is pretty serious sometimes. Let me ex- 
plain what I mean by it. 

A jailer in Georgia, whose duty it was to look 
after the safety of his prisoners, was faced one night 
by a mob of angry men who pointed their loaded 
rifles in his face and demanded that he break the 
law and turn some of the prisoners over to them. 
What do you think he did? What would you have 
done? Well, he did just what they told him to do, 
because, as the newspapers reported it next day, he 
"realized that resistance was useless," and that to 
do his duty and protect the prisoners would have 
been a very dangerous thing. Now you see what I 
mean, and I am going to ask the question again : 
Is it safe to do our duty when it is dangerous ? Was 
"resistance useless" for that jailer? Would it have 
been safe for him to do his dangerous duty? 

Twenty-five hundred years ago some handsome 
young fellows belonging to the best families in Judah 
had the same question to decide, though under en- 
tirely different circumstances. Few people criticised 
the Georgia jailer for shirking his duty when it was 
so dangerous ; few would have criticised the young 
nobles of Judah if they had quietly yielded to the 
pressure that was upon them to let down a trifle 



88 MEN WHO DARED 

from their highest standard of duty. Let us see 
what their difficulty was, and what they did with it. 

The Hebrew people were being taken into cap- 
tivity by the Babylonians. But captivity, this time, 
was not so bad as it sounds ; for the people were 
free to do about as they pleased in the new land. 
And if one happened to be a good-looking, healthy 
boy of one of the best Hebrew families, selected for 
special training by Nebuchadnezzar's own orders, 
one could very soon forget all about his own cap- 
tivity. That is what Nebuchadnezzar wanted Daniel 
and his friends to do. 

But Daniel was evidently the kind of fellow who 
didn't propose to forget all about his home training 
and what he knew was right and wrong. What was 
the first thing in which he was put to the test? 

Pretty dangerous, wasn't it, to decline to eat and 
drink what the king tells you to? Yet how did it 
come out, with Daniel and his three friends? 

Good so far; what was the next affair that almost 
got them into trouble, and this time through no fault 
of their own? A king's dreams. Tell me the story 
of that. How did Daniel show up this time? 

But they had not begun to have a taste of real 
trouble yet; now Daniel's three friends are going 
to be put to the test without him. We '11 have the 
story of the golden image. Yes ; and does it make 
you think of that jailer in Georgia, who "realized that 
resistance was useless," and that duty-doing was too 
dangerous to be considered? Is a rifle-bullet any 
more dangerous than that fiery furnace was? 

Now it's Daniel's turn again. He is not a boy any 
longer, but a full-grown man, one of the three presi- 

Lore 



DANIEL 89 

dents of the empire. He doesn't seem to have lost 
much yet by his bold stand for the right. But a 
strong, clean man is never popular with the grafters, 
so a plot is hatched. What was it? 

Daniel could have prayed inside his room, away 
from the window, so that no one could see him. 
Why didn't he do so? Will some one read aloud 
1 Kings 8 : 46-49 ? You see, the best way of praying 
that Daniel knew anything about was to pray openly, 
toward Jerusalem. And he felt that the best way 
to do a thing was good enough for him — nothing 
else was. Do we always decide that way? Did you 
ever hear of a fellow who tumbled into bed at night, 
when he was very tired, and said his prayers in bed, 
instead of the best way, kneeling? 

To be sure, it was awfully dangerous for Daniel 
to do this. But what of that? Honestly now, boys, 
what has danger to do with duty ? It makes it hard ; 
but is danger ever an excuse for not doing your 
duty? Daniel did not seem to think so. 

God wanted to save Daniel's life, so he shut the 
lions' mouths. Suppose God had not wanted Daniel 
to live any longer, but had had work for him to do 
in heaven, and the lions had finished him up that 
night? Would you have thought any less of Daniel? 
Wouldn't it have been a pretty good way to die? 

As a matter of fact, there is never any real danger 
in duty-doing. You may lose your life by it; but it 
is more dangerous to live than to die when God 
wants you to die and when life must be saved by 
cowardice. But as a rule, God sees to it that men 
who put duty above danger are saved, as were 
Daniel and his friends who refused to be scared. 



90 MEN WHO DARED 

That Georgia jailer did not know that resistance 
was useless; he only let himself be scared into 
thinking it was. If he had said to the mob, "You '11 
have to shoot me first," they probably would not 
have fired on him. A crowd of cowardly lynchers, 
who will hang a criminal, think twice before they 
shoot down a brave jailer. On the other hand, if 
the man had bravely lost his life, it might have put 
an end to lynching in that state for all time. Any 
way you look at it, he lost, and lost heavily, by 
thinking that duty was so dangerous that it need not 
be done. Living or dead, the duty-doer always wins. 
But a living coward is a sure loser. 



XVI 

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT USE 
SOLDIERS 

Home Work for the Pupils 

First Day 

After Israel and Judah had been conquered, the 
great temple at Jerusalem was destroyed. But a 
good Persian king decides to let some of the Jews 
go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Read 
Ezra 1 : 1-4. 

What was the Persian king's name? In what way 
did the king order men to help in the rebvtilding of 
the temple? 

Second Day 

Many people are back in Jerusalem, and the tem- 
ple worship is begun again, as they get ready to 
rebuild. Read Ezra 3 : 1-7. 

What feast did the people keep? What kind of 
wood did they get, and from where? 

Third Day 

After the temple was rebuilt, and another Persian 
king was reigning, a learned Jew gets permission to 
return to Jerusalem. Read Ezra 7 : 1-6. 

What was the new king's name? In what was 
Ezra a "ready scribe"? 



92 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

Ezra gets a valuable letter from the king, — his 
"credentials." Read Ezra 7: 11-18, 21, 25. 

How did the king show his confidence in Ezra? 
What did the king say about the law of God? 

Fifth Day 

Now that he is about to pass through a dangerous 
country, Ezra does a strange thing. Read Ezra 8: 
21-23. 

What did Ezra do at the river Ahava? What 
did he not ask the king for? Why? 

Sixth Day 

He has a very business-like arrangement with 
some of the priests. Read Ezra 8 : 24-34. 

What did he give twelve chiefs of the priests 
charge of? What were they to do with this? Why 
was the dangerous journey so safely made? 

Seventh Day 

At Jerusalem, Ezra carries out the command of 
his king. Read Neh. 8 : 1-3, 5-8. 

Why did the people gather themselves together? 
How long did Ezra read to them? How did the 
readers make sure that the people understood? 



EZRA 93 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Ezra: Ezra 1, 3, 7, 8; Nehemiah 8 

You remember I said there was a famous Yale 
baseball pitcher, named Stagg, who was commonly 
reported to make it his practice to pray before going 
into a game. I never heard of his denying this, nor 
of his being ashamed of it. The fellows in college 
did not seem to think any the less of him for it. 

But have you ever known of any one who hap- 
pened to be carrying a Bible on the street, or in a 
trolley car, feeling just a little ashamed to have it 
seen, and trying to slip it out of sight, — especially 
if it was on a week-day? Have you ever known of 
any one feeling a little embarrassed at being unex- 
pectedly discovered on his knees in prayer? Honestly, 
boys, which are you most likely to be ashamed of: 
your intimacy with God, or your willingness to get 
along without God? Of course, it's easy to use our 
Bibles, and talk about trusting God, and even to pray, 
here in this class, or on Sunday; is it just as easy to 
let folks know what we think of God, out on the 
street, or in school, or in business? 

There was a man who lived about twenty-three 
hundred years ago, who was ashamed in rather an 
unusual way. It was more than fifty years after the 
temple had finally been rebuilt at Jerusalem. The 
Jews who had gone back from captivity to Jeru- 
salem were getting careless, and were neglecting the 
temple worship. Something needed to be done. 
And so this man, who was a Jew, although he lived 



EZRA 95 

seven hundred miles from Jerusalem, determined to 
do something even if he had to get a king to help 
him. What was the man's name? The king's name? 
(Ezra 7:1.) 

Would you say that the king, Artaxerxes, had 
much confidence in Ezra, or not? What kind of 
"credentials," or letter, did he give him? (7: 21,25.) 

Now a seven-hundred mile journey is a good run 
even to-day, on an express train, but think what it 
must have been before there were any railroads ! 
Here is an outline map that shows the journey. At 
Ahava, now called Hit, Ezra assembled his company 
of travelers. Thence he might have gone directly 
across the desert to Damascus, or a little north to 
Palmyra, but those routes are such difficult and dan- 
gerous ones that he probably moved northward first, 
along the shore of the Euphrates River. This coun- 
try was a paradise, with plenty of fruit and gardens. 

But after a week of that they came to Deir, turned 
to the southwest, and struck the barren desert. 
Three days more brought them to Sukneh, where 
they refilled their skin bags with water, and then 
had four days' hard march to Palmyra. Here they 
were past the worst of their journey; but it was 
still four days to Damascus, and then a week or 
more through the land of Palestine to Jerusalem.* 

Who remembers what it was that Ezra says he was 
ashamed to do, while they were at Ahava, facing the 
terrible desert journey with all its dangers from 
bloodthirsty enemies? (8:21-23.) Yes; ashamed 
to ask the king for soldiers to protect them on the 



*This route and the facts are given by Dr. Edgar James 
Banks in The Sunday School Times of October 28, 1905. 



96 MEN WHO DARED 

way. And why? Was it because he had already 
asked the king for so much? No, indeed. It was 
simply because he had said that God could take care 
of them, and he was ashamed to seem to distrust 
God. 

God honored Ezra's confidence in him, and saw 
them safely through. And the thing I want you to 
remember Ezra for, is the fact that he was ashamed 
to seem to doubt God, and that he would not use sol- 
diers on that account. That's a pretty good kind of 
shame to have. 

This does not mean that we ought never to use 
soldiers, or to protect ourselves. Sometimes God 
wants us to do just that, and to refuse would be to 
doubt him. But in this particular case, Ezra knew 
that God's reputation was at stake with this other 
nation that did not understand God's power; and 
Ezra would not do anything that might seem like 
doubting God's power. It must have been hard. 
But it was worth while. What is a hero ? 



XVII 

A WALL-BUILDER WHO KEPT HIS WITS 
ABOUT HIM 



Home Work for the Pupils 



First Day 



A loyal Jew who holds high position in the court 
of Persia makes an urgent request of his king. Read 
Neh. 1:1-4, 11; 2:5-8. 

What news about Jerusalem did Nehemiah learn? 
What was his official position? What permission 
did the king give him? 

Second Day 

The Jews have enemies round about Jerusalem, 
and Nehemiah has to work carefully. Read Neh. 
2:9-20. 

What time did Nehemiah choose to make his first 
study of the walls of Jerusalem? In what condi- 
tion did he find the walls? What did he plan to do? 

Third Day 

Nehemiah evidently believes it is well to "trust 
God, and keep your powder dry." Read Neh. 4: 
6-9, 15-23. 

Why were Nehemiah's enemies angry? What 
careful plan did Nehemiah have to protect his peo- 
ple? What showed that he was not afraid of hard 
work? 



98 MEN WHO DARED 

Fourth Day 

His enemies are wise as foxes and do their best 
to trap Nehemiah. Read Neh. 6 : 1-4, 10-13. 

How did they first try to get Nehemiah in their 
power? What final plan did they try? 

Fifth Day 

Finally Nehemiah's enemies get a sad disappoint- 
ment and setback. Read Neh. 6: 15-19. 

Why were the enemies cast down? What ene- 
mies within Judah were on Tobiah's side? 

Sixth Day 

Even after the walls had been finished, there was 
need of great watchfulness. Read Neh. 7:1-4; 13: 
10-14. 

In what way did they watch against the enemy? 
What did Nehemiah find had been neglected by the 
people ? 

Seventh Day 

One more thing that was going wrong Nehemiah 
put a stop to. Read Neh. 13 : 15-22. 

In what ways had the Sabbath been broken ? How 
did Nehemiah put a stop to business on the Sab- 
bath? What is the Fourth Commandment? 



NEHEMIAH 99 

Teaching the Lesson in Class 

Nchemiah: Nehemiah 1 to 7:4; 13 

Some people have an idea that if a man is religious, 
you need not expect much else from him; that re- 
ligion is a substitute for brains, and push, and cour- 
age, and alert, all-round ability. What do you think 
of that theory? Can a fellow have religion and all 
those other things, too ? Name some of the brightest, 
most successful men in town. Are any of them re- 
ligious men? (Be sure to have some names ready 
yourself, if the class cannot suggest any, of business 
leaders who are active Christian workers.) 

Yes, religion and true success — which doesn't 
always mean getting rich — go together; it's a ques- 
tion whether either one amounts to much without 
the other. It is so to-day, and it has been so ever 
since the days of that successful old boat-builder 
who dared to take ridicule. And one of the best 
cases of this is the last "man who dared" in our 
series : a king's favorite, a brilliant, wealthy young 
man of affairs, whom you and I have been visiting 
with for a week. What was his name? We began 
our hero-series with a boat-builder; we are going to 
end it with a wall-builder. The two men were a 
good deal alike. 

Nehemiah had things all his own way in his palace 
life at Shushan. Riches, and position, and the king's 
favor — what more could you want? But he was a 
Jew, loyal to the old home-country ; and he put some 
things higher than a good time in life. A dozen 



100 MEN WHO DARED 

years had passed since Ezra's march to Jerusalem. 
Nehemiah got news from Jerusalem; what was it? 
(Neh. 1: 1-3.) Some men would have said: "What 
of it? Let the Jews who are there look after their 
own city, — it's no affair of mine." Not Nehemiah. 
If things were going wrong that he might make 
right, then he felt that it was time for him to get 
to work. But to do so meant letting all his court 
life and good times go. 

You know how he worked it. It wasn't easy to 
get leave of absence for a cross-desert journey to 
Judah. First he prayed about it. Then he kept on 
praying. He was the kind of fellow who is willing 
to wait. After three months or so of praying and 
waiting, his chance came with the king's question. 
He flashed up another silent prayer to God before 
he answered, and then, you know, he told the whole 
story; and the king let him go. 

That was only the beginning. Perhaps you can tell 
me the story of what happened after Nehemiah 
reached Jerusalem. What enemies were on hand? 
How did Nehemiah show his shrewdness in his first 
reconnoitre? (2: 12.) 

What plan of campaign was followed in this wall- 
building? If you need to refresh your memories, 
look at Nehemiah 4 : 9, 13, 16-23. The man who 
doesn't even take off his clothes at night means busi- 
ness, doesn't he? 

The enemies were no fools, and they would proba- 
bly have caught any one less alert and brainy than 
Nehemiah. What two different traps did they set for 
him? 

Nehemiah began his big campaign, back in Persia, 



NEHEMIAH 101 

how? With prayer. What do we find him doing at 
the last? (13:15-22.) Standing up solidly for 
Sabbath-keeping. So it is fair to say that religion 
had a pretty big place in his life, is it not? But he 
didn't make his religion an excuse for laziness, or 
carelessness; he trusted as though it all depended on 
God, and he worked as though it all depended on 
himself. That is the kind of religion God wants us 
to have. It is the kind that makes hero-stuff, — that 
will see us safely through all the hard things in life 
that are worth while. 



XVIII 

SIXTEEN MEN WHO DARED 

Home Work for the Pupils 

(The Bible references given are not to be read in full 
every day, but the answer to each question can be found 
somewhere in the Bible passage that follows it.) 

First Day 

What do you believe was the hardest thing that 
Noah had to do ? Gen. 6 to 8. 

What act do you think best showed Abraham's 
unselfishness? Gen. 12 to 14; 18. 

Second Day 

What incident in Isaac's life took most self-control? 
Gen. 22, 26. 

When did Jacob first realize the folly of fighting 
God? Gen. 32. 

Third Day 

Why did Joseph rise steadily to the top, in spite of 
"bad luck"? Gen. 37, 39, 40 to 42. 

Mention one "impossible" thing that Moses did. 
Ex. 2, 3, 14. 

Fourth Day 

What great military victory did Joshua win? 
Josh. 1, 3, 6. 



104 MEN WHO DARED 

What do you think was the hardest thing Gideon 
did? Judges 6, 7, 8:22, 23. 

Fifth Day 

How did David show his loyalty to his king? 
1 Sam. 26. 

How did Jonathan prove his friendship for David? 
1 Sam. 23 : 15-18. 

What was the hard choice that Solomon made? 
1 Kings 3 : 4-14. 

Sixth Day 

What act of daring showed Elijah's trust in God? 
1 Kings 18. 

Mention several ways in which Elisha helped 
others. 2 Kings 2, 4, 5. 

Seventh Day 

In what ways did Daniel and his three friends 
show that they would not be scared into doing 
wrong? Dan. 3, 6. 

Why was Ezra ashamed to ask his king for sol- 
diers? Ezra 8. 

How did Nehemiah's watchfulness twice save his 
life? Neh. 6. 



REVIEW 105 

How to Make the Review the Best Lesson of All. 

To the Teacher. — You and your class have been 
climbing up the side of a mountain for the past four 
months. Now you have come to the summit, where 
you can stop and look back over the steep climb 
already made, and get a landscape-view that you 
could not have had at any point on the way. The 
summit-view ought to be the best view of all. It is 
hoped that by utilizing one or more of the plans that 
follow, your class may find it so. 

The Training Review 

In college, the height of a good many fellows' am- 
bition is to get a seat at the training-table. What is 
that? It is the eating club or boarding place of any 
of the various athletic teams that defend the honor 
of the college in public contests with other col- 
leges. At the training-table ,the best and most 
nourishing food that money can buy is served, and 
plenty of it. But to have the right to eat at that 
table means a pretty stiff kind of life between meals. 
It means training, all the time : rigid self-sacrifice, 
no stimulants, no narcotics, no late hours, exhausting 
exercise, self-control in mind and temper as well as 
in body, — and perhaps being left off the "team" at 
the last moment, after all. Yet ten men are eager 
for a chance to undergo all this training for every 
one man that is successful in winning the privilege. 
Do you wonder why? 

We're going to take up a story of training to-day, 
and see how sixteen sturdy old heroes were trained 



106 MEN WHO DARED 

in even a harder school than that of a college team : 
what their training was, how they stood it, and what 
it made of them. 

After some such introduction as that, take up the 
heroes, one by one, and get the class to point out the 
great test or tests to which each man was put, as 
part of his training, how he stood it, and what 
the result was in the man's character. Isaac's tests 
were the boy-sacrifice and the well-digging incident; 
Moses, the Red Sea trap and others; and so on. 

The Word-Picture Review 

Paint a word-picture as graphically as you can, 
mentioning no names, but making the scene and the 
action vivid, interesting, and unmistakable. For 
example: It is midnight, and two men are locked 
in each other's arms, their muscles hard and tense, 
their veins swollen with the awful strain, neither 
gaining any advantage as they try to throw each 
other, when suddenly one touches the thigh of the 
other, and his leg goes out from under him. Who 
are they? What did the beaten one do after he was 
crippled? Why was it the best thing he could do? 

Again: a man goes out of his house in the early 
morning, before daylight, and hurries to the edge of 
a deep dungeon. Leaning far over, he peers down, 
but he can see nothing except gleaming yellow eyes 
and great restless tawny bodies moving back and 
forth. Who is he? What is he afraid he will find? 
What does he cry out? 

Use your imagination just as much as you can in 
making these pictures. You will need to practice 



REVIEW 107 

them aloud at home, going over the details carefully, 
to make such a review as interesting as it ought to 
be. To use the pictures in class, let one boy whom 
you name have first chance to answer, all others 
keeping still; if he misses, pass it on to the next in 
order, and so on. A score can be kept, if you wish, 
to see who makes the best record — and so in the 
other plans that follow. 

An Actual Picture Review 

For this, you will simply have the set of lesson- 
pictures* and show them, one by one, concealing the 
lettering, letting the boys have opportunities, by 
turn, to say what character is connected with the 
picture. This review could fairly be used only in a 
class that has used the pictures during its study. 

A Review by Characteristics and Qualities 

Who was the most unselfish man of the lot? 
(Jonathan.) Which one seemed to think most 
about helping others by his miracles? (Elisha.) 
Which one was the hardest to scare? (Daniel.) 
Which one was the most patient? (Noah.) Which 
one was the best peacemaker? (Isaac.) Which one 
was the trickiest? (Jacob.) Similarly, set the boys' 
wits to working by questions that make demands on 
their ability to give thoughtful estimates of the men. 

Filling in Parallel Columns 

Every man's life is a plan of God, and everything 
we do either helps to carry out God's plan for us, or 



*See page xii. 



108 



MEN WHO DARED 



mars it. Get the class to decide what the heroes 
did for and against God's plans for their lives. Rule 
a piece of foolscap paper and fill it in so that it will 
look like this>, at the top : 



God's Plan 
Helped by 


How? 


God's Plan 
Marred by 


How? 











The pupils will decide whether Noah helped or 
marred, and wherein, and his name and act will be 
filled in accordingly, — "Noah" in the first column, 
"building ark" in the "How" column. Sometimes a 
man both marred and helped, as Jacob, marring by 
his deception, helping finally by his surrender. 



A Geography Review 

Use a large sketch map, drawn on blackboard or 
tablet, containing no names. Let the teacher, or 
better still a pupil, locate and fill in places as they 
are given by pupils in connection with the different 
heroes that may be called for. For example, the 
teacher says "Jacob," and the pupil whose turn it is 



REVIEW 109 

names Bethel, or Jabbok, and locates it, and so on, 
until all the places connected with Jacob's life have 
been given and correctly located. 

Or vice versa. The teacher or a pupil fills in on 
the map the name of a place, and asks what person 
was connected with that place. 

The Review by Blanks 

Tell the story aloud in class of some incident in the 
life of one of the heroes, coming to a sudden stop 
at an important point, it being understood that the 
boy whose turn it is must fill the blank by naming 
the missing word. For example : "When David told 
Saul that he would like to fight Goliath, Saul wanted 

David to wear . But David finally took 

with him only ." And so on. 

A Review Game 

Prepare cards, in advance, each card containing 
some question, or word-picture, or description of a 
situation (like "men and priests marching around 
a city"), that will enable the thoughtful pupil to 
identify one of the sixteen characters. There can 
be more than sixteen cards, as you can have several 
different veiled references to each character. 

In class, let the pupils draw one card at a time, 
face down, until each one has as many cards as you 
think best; then let one turn up his top card, and, 
reading aloud what is on it, try to name the man to 
which it refers. If he misses, let the one next to 
him answer, and so on, until the one who correctly 
locates that lesson keeps the card. Then another 
card is turned up by the next pupil in order, and the 



110 MEN WHO DARED 

plan is repeated. Whoever has the most cards after 
all have been answered "wins the game/' To make 
it very simple, let the pupils all have the list of 
chapter titles before them as they play this game. 

A "Conquering the Impossible" Review 

Run through the entire sixteen characters, letting 
che class decide w T hat "impossible" things were done, 
and by whom, — such as the crossing of the Red Sea, 
the crossing of Jordan, the defeat of Baal, and so on. 

A "Minority Report" Review 

The majority are usually wrong. If a fellow holds 
fast to the right, he is likely to be in the minority, as 
Joshua and Caleb were among the spies. Get the 
class to determine what each man of the sixteen did 
which most people — the majority — would not have 
done; in other words, wherein each hero was in the 
minority by doing right, and what most people 
would have done — and wrongly — under the same 
circumstances. 

A Written Review 

A written review is not nearly so formidable as it 
sounds, and is one of the most effective methods. 
Here are some points to observe, out of the experi- 
ence of a well-known Sunday-school superintendent : 

Call it a written review, not an examination. 

Have every pupil supplied with paper and a sharp- 
ened pencil. 

Make most of the questions encouragingly easy, 
instead of forbiddingly hard. 



REVIEW 111 

Dictate the questions slowly, clearly, and assure 
every one that there is no hurry. 

And here are a few questions of the sort that 
might be used: 

How many sons had Noah ? 

For what cities that God was going to destroy did 
Abraham pray? 

What was the name of the man who kept on dig- 
ging wells, and would not fight, after his enemies 
had filled up his wells ? 

How did Joseph finally get out of prison? 

(For those who desire it, a written examination 
in this and other Bible courses is conducted every 
year by the International Committee of Young 
Men's Christian Associations. Full particulars will 
be sent upon request. Address Religious Work 
Department, 124 East 28th Street, New York.) 



Whatever method of review is used, let it be deter- 
minedly made the opportunity of bringing once more 
before the class the sterling qualities of unflinching 
heroism that made these men immortal. And let 
there be no doubt in the minds of any — let this be 
your last word to the boys — that the same kind of 
heroism is needed in the world to-day, and that 
there is plenty of it in lives all around us, if we 
could only see as God sees. May we ourselves get 
into the Honor Roll of Heroes, by looking to the 
Captain of our Salvation, day by day, for strength 
to do the hard things that are worth while ! 



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